I wasn’t quite aware of this when I was young, but looking back, I recognize now that I lived a very delicious and privileged foodie childhood. When we would have family dinners out several times a year with my cousins, aunt, uncle, and grandma, inevitably, we’d always eat at a family favorite Cantonese Chinese restaurant, and there would always, always be crab or lobster on the table. Most of the time when this was ordered, it would be fried or sautéed Cantonese style in ginger and scallion or with garlic, but regardless, the seafood was always extremely fresh, sweet, and sumptuous. It’s funny to think that I actually ate crab more regularly as a growing child than I do now as an adult. Then, I didn’t have to think about paying for it (the glories of being a child and not having to worry about paying for anything because an adult would always take care of the bill), and I had no concept then of things that were “cheap” or “expensive” to buy and eat. Plus for a short time as a younger child, my mom did the generous deed of shelling all the lobster and crab for me. When I got to a certain age, she (reasonably) insisted I had to do it myself, which I did most of the time unless I was too lazy to shell it and would just skip it altogether (the audacity to turn down crab!!).

Since then, I’ve had many opportunities to eat crab and lobster, whether it’s different varieties, different preparations, and in different countries (and, well, pay for it with my own money, for better or worse, ha). Sri Lanka is known for many things: pristine beaches, its lush, green landscape and incredible biodiversity, Ceylon tea, cinnamon, hoppers, curry, and CRAB. So I knew when we finally came, we needed to have crab in at least one meal, if not more ideally.

We arrived yesterday afternoon in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, on a short flight from Kochi. After we arrived at the hotel and settled in, we took a quick Uber ride to our first stop: Mayura Hotel. So, this isn’t what it sounds like, as it’s common in Lanka to call restaurants “hotels.” Mayura Hotel is a very local restaurant in the Pettah neighborhood of Colombo. It’s a small hole-in-the-wall with just a handful of tables (yeah, we definitely weren’t going to bother even trying to ask for a high chair here!). They serve one thing and one thing only: rice and curry, with your choice of omelet, chicken, fish, prawn, mutton, or crab to come with it. The prices range from 450 LKR to 1700 LKR. Surprisingly, the crab wasn’t even the most expensive option at 1700 LKR – that was the mutton meal! So for 1450 LKR, or about $4.65 USD, you could get a full crab and curry meal here! WHAT A STEAL!

When you are seated at Mayura, a friendly old man comes and lays a large banana leaf in front of each diner while asking which meal option you’d like. We opted for the fish meal and (duh) the crab meal. Once he’s collected the order, he comes back with several small pots, one at a time, and a big ladle. Then, he ladles different components onto your banana leaf: first, the rice, then two types of vegetable curry (that day, I think they were a mix of green beans, potato, pumpkin, and okra), and finally a thick, creamy, Lankan style dal called parippu. And as the main part of your lunch meal, he brings over a fried fish and a metal plate with a medium sized, deep red color crab on top, with a small metal bowl of curry. The curry that is served with the crab is called jaffna curry: Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, and is also famous for its curry of the same name. The curry mix consists of red chili, coriander, cumin, fennel, turmeric, fenugreek, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, curry leaves, and (what really makes it different than Indian curries) pandan! The curry was really addictive: Chris said that he actually enjoyed this curry more than the crab itself! He didn’t want to bother with cracking the crab himself, especially since a) he doesn’t like cracking crab and b) he was holding Kaia for most of our meal here, so he insisted I eat the majority of the crab because I love it so much. He doesn’t love crab as much as I do. What a good, thoughtful husband.

We’d already eaten a number of delicious meals while in Kerala, but this meal was truly delicious in every sense of the word and an amazing first meal in Sri Lanka. Every component of this meal was scrumptious, from the two vegetable curries, each with a different and tasty, complex sauce, to the parippu (so creamy and rich, and different than the average Indian style dal!) to the crab and fish. The little fried fish we got was really meaty, with a nice crisp skin that Kaia loved and ate a lot of. As for the crab – wow. While the legs were quite a lot of work and didn’t yield too much meat, the really meaty part was the base of the body. Crab can be very frustrating: you have to crack (with your teeth here – no crackers at this place!), then pick at them for what feels like forever in order to get, at times what seems like, a tiny smidgen of food to eat. But when I finally started peeling and attacking the body of the crab, that’s when I realized where all the good stuff was. While all the manual labor involved will likely not yield the mountain of crab meat I may think I deserve, this crab was worth the effort: soft, silky, very sweet, and a little spicy. With shellfish, I like to do all the work up front so that I can enjoy all my rewards at the end. So when I finally got a big mouthfuls’ worth of crab meat, I dunked it into the Jaffna curry and put it in my mouth: it was like an explosion of flavors that made all that tough work seem okay in the end. I know I’ll be thinking about this meal for a very, very long time after this trip has ended.

And oddly, I even incurred some injuries during the cracking and de-shelling of this crab: one cut finger tip, plus a tiny crab splinter in my thumb! Neither has ever happened to me before when eating any type of crustacean, but I suppose you can’t always have pleasure without a little pain…

We got there just in time to eat our meal before they started wrapping up, as they close at 3:30 every day. The place was packed, mostly with what seemed like local office workers in the area, as well as some small families. The service was extremely friendly, and they have a sink at the back for you to wash your hands (thankful for this, as it was much, much needed after all that shelling!). The pictures we took of this place and the food we had here just do not do it justice. And I’m still in slight shock that we were able to have this incredible crab meal for less than $5 USD.

When we visited the Lulu Mall, one of the things I definitely wanted to do was check out the hypermarket that was on its ground level. I don’t think I’d ever been inside a hypermarket, but it’s exactly what it sounds like: a massive store that combines a supermarket and a department store. Here, you can not only get your weekly grocery haul, but also pick up kitchen supplies, trousers, a dress, diapers, pencils, a lamp — almost anything! Of course, hypermarkets would be a thing in the fast-paced world of India! 

It was a total zoo inside: endless people streaming in and out and in literally every single one of its very long aisles. While there, I picked out a new ladle (I LOVE the utensils in India; when we were here last, I bought a large stainless steel spoon and handled strainer in a kitchen supply shop in Chennai, both of which I still use every time I make chai on the stove), a mix for appam (remember that I said the mixes in India are GOOD and have zero preservatives?!), plus TWO mangoes. 

I could not believe my eyes when we got to the produce aisle: multiple rows of mangoes, all labeled, of course, by varietal. In India, a mango is not just a mango: you must share what variety it is. I kept feeling the mangoes to see which were ripe enough for us to eat in the next day since we’d be leaving soon for the next leg of our trip. And I finally settled on two: the gudadath and the nadasala. The gudadath is native to the state of Kerala, with a thick texture that is extremely juicy, perfumey, and huge in size and weight. Some gudadath mangoes can weigh as much as 600 grams and be larger than the size of my face! The second mango, the nadasala, was originally cultivated in Tamil Nadu. It is smaller than the gudadath, rounder like a kesar, and is sweet, perfumey, and floral. I read that it’s a popular juicing mango.

The hotel indulged me, once again, and had a kitchen staff member cut my mangoes and send them to our room. I stared at the flesh of both mangoes lovingly: they looked so different than the Mexican mangoes we normally eat, and even versus the neelam, himsagar, alphonso, and kesar mangoes we’d eaten in India! Both mangoes’ flesh were almost translucent, a deep yellow-orange color. The gudadath texture is akin to jelly if you can believe it. It was extremely juicy, sweet like honey with all these different complex notes. The nadasala was also extremely juicy, dripping sweet with a nice surprise of tartness at the end of each bite. The flesh, similar to the gudadath, was also on the softer side and a bit translucent. It’s no wonder the nadasala is a top choice for making mango juice! 

Mangoes in India — it’s really just another world here with this magical fruit. The varieties are endless, and the complexities of flavor and the meatiness of the flesh are just so unique. The only regret I have from this trip to Kerala is that we did not taste even more varieties of mangoes! Also, I’m pretty bummed that during this entire time, Pookster absolutely refused to eat ANY mango at all! She had eaten so many ataulfo mangoes over the last few months and has been on quite the mango strike for the last several weeks. This was just blasphemous to me! 

During our last trip to India in June-July 2018, I had fond memories of how amazing the service was at the hotels. At the Jaipur Holiday Inn, which is not even a luxury hotel, they were so eager to please that when I asked for a fork, knife, and plate to cut some mangoes and lychees I’d purchased, and I said I wanted to cut them, the person at the front desk insisted that someone from the kitchen cut the fruit up for me and would have it sent to my room. I still think about that experience all the time and think, WOW, now THAT is service!

At the Kochi Lulu Marriott Hotel, where we have stayed while in Kerala, the hotel staff have also been quite attentive, especially at the daily breakfast buffet. There has been a cart where a staff member makes fresh filtered coffee and pulled (yes, REALLY pulled like on the street!) masala chai; another cart where pancakes and waffles are made to order; an entire station in the back where fresh parathas, uttapams, dosas, and pooris are being churned out to order, plus a fresh squeezed and blended fruit juice station. All of this is on top of all the other stations covering fruit, western food (ugh), endless north and south Indian specialties like kadala curry, fish curry, khichdi, puttu, idlis, and a large variety of sambars and chutneys. We asked the manager about what variety of cut mangoes were at the fruit station, and they insisted on having the chef send out a full plate of cut and skinned mangoes — two types every morning: neelam and himsagar — delicious, meaty, floral, perfumey, and super rich in flavor. We were in mango heaven and were completely spoiled.

One last thing that happened that stayed with me there: at the juice station, you also have fresh coconut water as an option. Usually, the juicer will cut the coconut and pour the water out for you fresh, but one morning, I asked for the whole coconut. I was obliged, but on the next day when I asked for the same thing, he told me that management said guests could no longer get the whole coconut at their table. I was okay with that, but I followed up by asking him if he could help cut out the coconut fresh for me after pouring the juice. He immediately smiled and said yes, then proceeded to try to use the same knife to cut the coconut in half. Unfortunately, the knife was too dull. He then called over a colleague to see if he could maneuver the knife better for him — still no luck. Then, as if that was not enough, a third person came over with a sharper knife, but the three of them STILL could not get the coconut open. Finally, the juice guy told me that they’d have to take the coconut to the back kitchen to get cut with a sharper knife, and he’d have the coconut flesh sent to my table. I was a bit worried; I didn’t want anyone getting injured or having a finger or two cut off just to get me my requested coconut meat.

Some time had passed; still no coconut flesh for me. So I asked the hotel manager if he could check to see if the coconut meat was still coming since we had to get on with our day. He came back a few minutes later with my cup of coconut meat. I took one bite — it was absolutely delicious — sweet, refreshing, meaty. I took another bite and felt a little bad that the hotel had gone to such great lengths to get this small cup of coconut meat for me, but I realized that well, they believe and know that they are in the hospitality industry for a reason: that is to serve customers and make them happy. And so for them, they’re just doing their job. I tipped the juice guy and gave him profuse thanks for his efforts. At that point, I was quite full from a full on Indian breakfast, so I brought the coconut meat back to our room and placed it in the fridge to enjoy after we got back at the end of the day.

The next thought I had was: as IF something like this would EVER happen back in the U.S.! They’d immediately say no, then expect a tip for doing very little. The people who work in the hospitality industry in India take true pride in their work and making customers happy. While I think that is likely what the average hospitality worker likes to think they think in the U.S., the level of effort and dedication can definitely not be matched to the high level I’ve personally witnessed in Asia. There is, frankly, a level of integrity here in hospitality that just doesn’t exist in the U.S.

The first time I’d heard of a “hill station” was when I was on The Chai Box website, and the founder had created a blend of cardamom and rose chai that she named after memories she had at the Shimla Hill Station in Himachal, India, located at the foothills of the Himalayas. I later learned that hill stations were common in India, known as towns in the low mountains of the Indian subcontinent, often popular as destinations for holidays and honeymoons, especially during the hot seasons when it would be a bit cooler there. When I was researching Kerala and where to go given we would be flying in and out of Kochi, it was really overwhelming to narrow down where to go given our short amount of time here. Munnar seemed like a logical choice given it is about 4 hours by car and was known for its rolling hills, scenic valleys, and endless tea plantations and spice gardens.

We’d visited tea plantations before. We’d seen them while walking and hiking in Hangzhou, China, known for the famous Longjing or Dragon Well green tea. We’d seen them in Taipei after taking the Maokong Gondola up into the mountains overlooking the city; a number of tea plantations are up there. But this was the first time we had walked through a tea plantation and literally been in the hills with them. When you see these endless hills, with row after row of tea bushes (actually trees, but cut short to make it easier to pluck the leaves – still not sure how I never knew this before…), it almost seems like it’s fake, like something out of a postcard that wouldn’t really look this gorgeous in real life. But it really is just as stunning as the photos online. We also got lucky with the weather, as when we walked through the plantation, the rain temporarily stayed away.

Another notable part of our day trip to Munnar today was the spice garden we visited. The state of Kerala is very famous for its spices; it’s considered the land of spices, even within India. It is listed as being one of the top 15 states in India for spice export, with its top spices being pepper, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon (of course, some of my faves!). We got a straight taste of the freshness of these spices today when I got to eat fresh cardamom seeds from a not yet ripe pod off the plant (it was so strong, almost like I had multiple cardamom pods’ worth of seeds in my mouth!), and also got to squeeze a nearly fresh clove and see its juices seeping out of it. That was evidence of exactly how fresh the spices were, how very recently, these spices were dried and prepped for purchase.

Everyone always says how key it is to cook with fresh spices, but the reality is that most of us do not have the freshest spices and keep the same jars or containers of spices for years, if not decades. Plus, until relatively recently, most of us living in the west had no visibility into how our spices, whether whole or ground, even got to our local supermarket or grocery store; we didn’t know what country they came from, when they were processed, or exactly how “fresh” they were; the spice trade was essentially a black hole. I myself have tried to be better about not keeping old, stale spices, but it’s hard because it’s not like spices are cheap, and it’s hard just to throw things away for me, especially with food that hasn’t actually gone “bad.” But when you smell and taste these extremely fresh, bright, and vibrant spices, it almost makes you feel more alive, as trite as that sounds. Because here, you actually are tasting and smelling what these babies are intended to taste and smell like, with a pungency that is very much in your face, pure and natural. I picked up some cardamom, cinnamon sticks, and mace, which I’ve actually never purchased before, but I have seen it in some Indian recipes but just omitted it since I never had it. Now, I don’t have to! Seeing and tasting the plants and spices today was a really exciting and invigorating experience. I’d love to see more spices and their plants and how they are cultivated.

Shopping is not really something I do much anymore in person. If I have to buy something, I usually will just go online, try to find the best deal, do a few clicks, and have something delivered to me. Being in malls while traveling is something I also avoid. Part of it is because I don’t necessarily travel solely to buy things, and the other part is that Chris absolutely detests malls. But when I found out our hotel was literally right next door to the famous Lulu International Shopping Mall, I figured we might as well go check it out, and if for nothing else, then most definitely the FOOD COURT. Food courts in the U.S. absolutely bore me, but internationally, I always find them interesting, similar to how I like going to local markets and supermarkets. It’s fun to see what people like to eat in other places.

Lulu Mall covers over 17 acres, so it’s not only one of the largest malls in all of India, but it’s also the number 1 tourist attraction for Kochi the city on TripAdvisor apparently. Inside, there is a massive arcade and entertainment center, as well as a bowling alley. The “hypermarket” on the main floor was a total zoo, but had every single grocery and kitchen item imaginable there. When we got to the food court, my jaw almost dropped: it was like an Indian foodie’s dream: almost everything I could possibly want to eat that is Indian food was there. All the usual northern Indian dishes were represented, but the southern Indian food representation was INSANE. Endless dals, curries, appams, dosas, idlis, Kerala fish fry, Kerala beef fry — you name it, and it was in that freaking food court. And then, what REALLY got me excited: THERE WERE ENDLESS Indian Chinese food options!!!!!

In New York, we have Tangra Masala to satiate our Indian Chinese food cravings. It is still, to this day, one of my top 5 most loved restaurants in New York, if not the world. When Chris ordered some chili noodles today from a stall at the food court, it was so, so addictive: it had that nice wok fry flavor, Chinese seasonings, with Indian spices and heat. It was so, so good. While Kaia can handle a decent amount of heat for her age, these noodles were clearly spicy for her; she kept going back for more water, and as she ate more noodles, she kept slurping, indicating the heat was getting to her, but kept going back for more, in between bites of her mutton biryani.

In addition to these stalls, we also got excited at a juice stall, where Chris picked up freshly blended kiwi juice; a FALOODA Nation stall (OMG OMG, falooda!!!! LOVE); and an ice cream stand that just had different fruit flavors, even jackfruit and alphonso mango, of kulfi. I could have honestly spent the whole week just eating at that mall and have been totally satisfied.

Kerala, the mother and fatherland of Chris, literally means “land of coconuts.” “Kerala” comes from two words: “kera” meaning coconuts, and “alam” meaning “land.” And it’s no wonder that Kerala is named what it’s named because literally everywhere you look and turn, there are coconut trees everywhere. It’s kind of like being in Hawaii: even if you were poor and homeless, if you had the ability to climb a tree, you’d have food.

Today, we took an all-day tour to Allepey to ride on a private boat along the backwaters of Kerala. Allepey is not only the place where Chris’s nana was born, but it’s also a popular destination for backwater boat rides and stays in Kerala. In India, Kerala is not only known for having the highest literacy rate, but it’s also known for being a popular domestic honeymoon destination. One of the things I looked forward to most here was being able to finally try the ever elusive “toddy,” a sweet, naturally fermented drink that is produced from the sap of coconut trees in the state. When first tapped from a coconut tree, the toddy is already a bit fermented, but after a few hours, and then a few days, the strength of the alcohol gets higher and higher. Our guide had us stop at a toddy shop along the water, and we hopped off for a glass of toddy each.

We each ordered a glass of toddy, tapped fresh this morning, and it was certainly a unique flavor: slightly sweet, almost rice-like in flavor, with an interesting light effervescence that is quite similar to that of kombucha. The closest thing I could compare it to that we’d had previously on our travel was makgeolii, the raw rice wine we drank from a local drinking spot in Busan, Korea. After having tasted this, I could already imagine how much more delicious appams could be if made with fresh toddy. Appams were something I didn’t know about before Chris. When I met his family, his mom made some appams from a mix (by the way, I usually hate on boxed mixes, but seriously, India takes “mixes” to a whole other level — the quality is high, and there’s never any preservatives in these things! HOW DO THEY DO THIS??!), but I was hooked and knew I had to try making it myself. While they are still tasty using mixes and/or yeast, the flavor of course would not be the same as when made authentically with fresh toddy. Unfortunately, from what Chris’s mom shared, as well as our guide, fresh appams made with fresh toddy is almost like a relic of the past; people just don’t make it this way anymore, and if they do, it’s only for very special occasions like Easter dinner.

The cute part of our visit to the toddy shop was when Pookster saw us both drinking the toddy and thought it was milk. She started reaching for it, and when we wouldn’t give to to her, she had a bit of a melt down. Having her alongside us on this trip has definitely made this India visit completely different (and in some ways, more exciting and more of an adventure) than back in June-July 2018 when we first went as a family of two. It’s been exhausting, but I keep telling myself that all these moments will pass us, so we have to enjoy her at every stage for what and who she is. And it’s moments like this, when she confuses toddy for milk, when I really smile and think, wow, it feels so good to be here with her and know that she’s our sweet, rambunctious baby.

Once upon a time, I had no idea airport lounges even existed. I thought everyone lugged themselves into airports and sat either at the food court or the gate, waiting for their flight to take off. Then, I got access to the United lounge in LA, and I thought it was pretty underwhelming. Other than getting access to the lounge Wi-Fi, having outlets, and maybe some of their subpar trail and nut mixes and snacks, I didn’t understand why anyone would pay to get access to the United lounge (eww). But what finally did me in was when Chris first took me into the British Airways lounge at JFK on my first flight headed to Australia, and I was sold: a huge fountain awaited me as I entered, and the food and drink was ridiculous. It was like being in a true “lounge” where you had access to endless food, booze, and comfort.

I have since been in a number of incredible lounges run by Qantas, Japan Airlines, and Cathay Pacific. But nothing could really prepare me for the vastness that was the Al Mourjan Business Lounge (South) at Hamad International Airport during our layover in Doha en route to Kochi. First, there was a north side AND a south side lounge. Second, the space was just endless: a smoking/cigar room; a massive business center; a children’s playroom with huge bouncy castles and endless toys; multiple dedicated baby changing rooms that were HUGE and pristine, cleaned after each use – they even supply diapers, diaper cream, baby lotion, and wipes on request; a family center where you could spend time with your family and not worry about making other people mad due to children’s noise; quiet rooms that can be reserved for up to six hours at a time, essentially mini hotel rooms, to sleep in total silence and privacy; full bathrooms and showers that can be booked and will be cleaned before and after each use. And as for food options, there is also full-service dining and a buffet, multiple baristas for freshly made coffee beverages; a made-to-order sushi and sandwich counter, and endless rotating desserts, both western and Middle Eastern style.

And that still doesn’t cover everything if you can believe it! Right now, a Dior spa is in construction for the north side lounge, and a gym is also in progress so that you can fit in a workout ahead of your flight. There’s also a pay-per-item Louis Vuitton restaurant inside the north lounge. A number of different seats, couches, and lounge arrangements were everywhere. Kaia really loved all the different water fixtures, especially the fountain that had jumping water. She also loved that she could run around freely on a wide, open floor plan.

I think what really stood out to me was how family friendly the entire place was. Here, you’d never have to worry about your children being taken care of and not having them seen as a nuisance or annoyance. Here, children are accepted as part of the overall energy and life of the lounge; they aren’t inconveniences. There are endless places to change your baby’s diapers and ensure your own comfort as a parent. People even go out of their way to ask if your baby is comfortable or needs anything else. In fact, on the Qatar flights, Kaia always was treated like a VIP passenger; the flight attendants always asked if I needed anything additional, whether it was food or drink or blankets or bottles, for her. Kaia even got a diaper/change kit that was reusable with Qatar Airways’ branding. Qatar always has baby food (pouches) on all flights, unlike on American Airlines, where you have to specifically request baby food, and then follow up a number of times to ensure that it even got onto your plane. Honestly, that AA experience was just laughable in comparison, especially given then, we also flew business class and they wanted to starve my baby. If only the U.S. could be a bit more like this was.

For our trip to South Asia, Chris booked us business class tickets on Qatar Airways, which means we would get to experience Qsuites on our outbound flight from JFK to Doha. Qsuite is oftentimes talked about as the “world’s best business class” experience. You essentially get your own small suite with a full lie-flat bed, ambient mood lighting, generous storage space, plus a sliding door to close for full privacy during the flight. You get a nice, quilted mattress, a plush and thick royal purple duvet cover, and as the bonus I wasn’t thinking about at all – an exclusive Diptyque amenity kit. I’ll be honest: every time I went to the bathroom in flight, not only did I get excited about having a WINDOW in the huge bathroom, but I also enjoyed misting my face and neck with the Diptyque rose facial mist spray. It had just the right amount of floral, rosy scent without making me smell like a granny.

And as one would expect flying on a Middle East airline, the service was excellent – very attentive, and maybe even more so given we were flying with our toddler. Kaia got lots of attention – as much milk and cereal as she wanted, as well as some little plush toys (sadly, she’s still not really into any stuffed animal, but it’s the thought that counts, right?). The food was also incredible – it was the very first flight where I’d seen LOBSTER as an option for a main course. I was also obsessed with the karak chai, which you could either get with saffron or cardamom. And I even had a mini afternoon tea spread for breakfast that came with delicious finger sandwiches, scones, jam and clotted cream, plus cute petit fours.

And in preparation for fully enjoying the Qsuite, Chris got what he called “a very important” purchase: a tiny bottle of melatonin drops for Pookster — to “help her sleep and adjust.” A lot of parenting groups talk about this for toddlers to use in flight, plus to help with jet lag.

“What – I want to enjoy my Qsuite experience! I’m paying for it!” Chris insisted when I wrinkled my brow at him when he showed the dropper bottle to me.

Over the last 11 years, Chris and I have visited pretty much all the U.S. presidential libraries and museums, as well as civil rights museums, historical monuments, sites, buildings, tombs, and cemeteries. While I am sure it is a huge generalization to say this, what I’ve noticed about the conversations I overhear while at all of these sites is that the vast majority of the people visiting tend to be more on the progressive side. Parents bring their kids here to teach them history; adults come to learn more about their own country, or the history that perhaps, they were not fully taught in school (self included). They recognize the connection of the past to our present and future, and they have conversations about this while visiting.

This long weekend, we visited Mount Vernon, which is George Washington’s home and mansion, as well as Fort McHenry, a U.S. historical site known as the birthplace and inspiration of the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I wasn’t sure how open Mount Vernon would be in terms of addressing all of George Washington’s hundreds of slaves I knew he had, but amazingly, they actually did address it, and quite openly and often. While many would argue that the way they address it is a bite muted, the fact that they repeatedly mentioned the “enslaved labor” or “enslaved people,” and that they had huge sections of the estate calling out the enslaved people’s living quarters, conditions, and work, shows that they’re not trying to cover up the past.

At one point while walking around the grounds, I came across some young children, likely walking along side their parents after visiting the female slave houses. The kids were asking their parents why the former president of the U.S. would have kept slaves and asking if Washington knew it was “wrong.” The parents were trying to explain it in the context of history, while also acknowledging how wrong it was. They even tried to connect the wrongness of Washington having slave labor to the persistent racism that goes on today. While I’m not sure those very young minds could fully grasp the gravity of what their parents were saying, I silently commended the parents for not only explaining the past so neatly, but also attempting to connect it to the present day for the kids to try to understand. There is very little possibility that those parents are advocating for all these stupid book bans that are an embarrassment of the U.S. today.

And then I thought: I suppose those types of conversations will be had by us when Pookster eventually learns different things, understands more, and asks us questions. And we’ll need to find ways to neatly package all this information without white-washing the truth and fully educating her.

One of our very favorite things to do when we visit a new place is to visit their local market. Some places call them farmers markets. In Asia, they’re known as “wet markets.” But regardless, we just love markets. It’s a great place to get a pulse of of a city or town, to see a mix of locals and tourists, and get a sense of what people like to eat, drink, and buy.

Although New York City is known for its Union Square Greenmarket, over the years, I’ve honestly gotten a bit bored of it. When I used to work nearby, I’d browse the market at least a day or two a week during my lunch break, but I didn’t really buy very much. As Chris has pointed out (and as I have begrudgingly admitted is actually true), most of the vendors seem to be selling the exact same thing, just one stall after another, and perhaps with prices varying by a quarter or two. There are a handful of unique stalls that sell specific Asian vegetables, and I do enjoy both of the main bakery stalls (Bread Alone is my standby), but overall, it doesn’t have much diversity. On top of that, most of the meat and seafood products are just so exorbitantly expensive that at the rates they are charging, you might as well just order that same cut at a restaurant because at least then, you won’t have to worry about cooking or cleaning up.

Some of our favorite farmers markets we’ve visited in the U.S. have been in places I wouldn’t immediately think of, but were extremely memorable: Omaha, Nebraska, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, really stand out. I always loved Pike Place Market in Seattle, which is quite famous. But now, we can add Baltimore, Maryland, to that list. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the Sunday farmers market here, but I was obsessed!

Baltimore’s farmers market had such a variety of produce and goods being sold that it was a struggle to keep up with all of them. They had endless locally grown, fresh produce, many bakery stands serving a wide variety of baked goods, both sweet and savory; kombucha, kimchi, brisket and pulled pork barbecue, barbecue OYSTERS, crab pies; and even a frozen dumpling stand. I was blown away when I saw all the beautiful mushrooms at The Mushroom Stand (yes, aptly named), as well as the relatively reasonable prices. I ended up picking up a pint each of the maitake (hen of the woods) and the lion’s mane, the latter of which I’ve never seen at any market anywhere and had only read about in food magazines. I LOVE mushrooms so much, but the special varieties are hard to come by, and when you do see them, they are usually so pricey. I bought two fat bunches of garlic scapes for just $5 (what steal, especially to what the farmers market stands charge in New York City for these babies!). We also got freshly made, cold brewed coffee, a slice of cherry and peach olive oil cake, mini caneles (which I even indulged Pookster with), an egg custard tart, a spinach ricotta flaky pastry, a ginger cardamom lemonade that was extremely refreshing and sweetly spicy; mini frozen hot chili wontons and lamb and chive dumplings; and even a pint of fat, sweet-tart blueberries for Pookster. Chris’s parents joked and said we may have bought the whole market! If we lived closer, I definitely would have bought more fresh produce, but alas, we do not. It was such a fun experience, and we were lucky to be in Baltimore on a Sunday to get to enjoy it.