I met my friend for dinner tonight at the Canal Street Market, where we shared steamed rice noodle rolls, ceviche, and shaved ice. While I am not completely a fan of food markets for the sake of food markets, especially when a lot of food markets nowadays tend to be extremely expensive, Canal Street Market does a pretty good job of having reasonable price points and a varied selection of food. It’s not just Asian food here — they even have a token salad stall and a ceviche stall.

I thought about Joe’s Steamed Rice Roll, which I shared two of with my friend tonight, and which I just had a couple weeks ago in their original location in Flushing. It makes me happy to think about these small food businesses that started so small and humble in Flushing, and having made it and attracted endless lines and waits, have moved into Manhattan and even have their own branding. That reminded me of how big Xi’an Famous Foods has become, as well, also having started in a tiny food stall in a nondescript basement in Flushing. When there’s nothing else, there is still hope for good and delicious food.

Our friends in Sacramento came to visit this week and came over for brunch today. Even though it’s been a year since we last saw them, not a lot has changed for us. We’re still doing the things we always do: living in the same apartment, experimenting with different recipes in the kitchen, eating out, theater, work, work travel, and fun travel. On their end, while they’re fully settled into their new home they bought in Sacramento, it’s been a lot of family life for them given they have family nearby, and not as many friends. They haven’t spent as much time looking for new friends because most of their out-of-work time is either spent with each other after work or with family on weekends. Family time really is their social time now.

For myself, I don’t really mind not being that close to any family. I guess I have one cousin in New York, but he’s not a desirable person to spend social time with. I kind of like that when we visit our family in San Francisco and Melbourne that it feels like a special time because we’re not always there. You’re no longer special and prioritized when you live in the same place with someone, right?

A couple friend of ours who relocated to northern California last year are in town this week for work, and so they invited themselves (well, they knew we’d agree if we were also in town) over for Sunday brunch. I got excited since we haven’t seen them in about a year since they relocated to Sacramento, but I also got excited because it meant I’d have another opportunity to try out some new recipes. Since I got my Instant Pot, I knew I wanted to test out the “yogurt” incubator mode to make dosa/idli batter. Dosa and idli are made from the exact same fermented batter; the only difference is that the idli batter is the fermented batter as it is once it’s finished rising, while the dosa batter is idli batter that is thinned out with water. This helps with getting it nice and crispy when you fry it on a pan to make a super thin crepe. Dosa batter, traditionally, doesn’t use any real learners like yeast or baking soda; it relies completely on the fermentation coming from the urad dal lentils, rice, and methi seeds. This failed the last time I tried it last year, and the batter never rose, and I had thick crappy pancakes to eat for a whole week because I didn’t want to throw out the batter (wasted food is the enemy in my house). So, I don’t know if it’s the problem of the air in this apartment or what, but I’m hoping the Instant Pot incubating mode can resolve my worries.

I took one of my customers out to lunch today, and one of the members of the team is planning a two-week-long vacation to Japan, visiting multiple cities both urban and in the countryside. I asked him where he was going, and given his interests, I suggested he add Hiroshima to the list. It’s strange to me to hear about Americans visiting Japan, some multiple times, and never expressing any desire to go to Hiroshima, the city that this country decided to flatten and decimate within seconds at the end of World War II. I don’t want to be openly judgmental about it, but I try to be effusive when I recommend it from a historical and empathetic perspective. Don’t we as Americans have a responsibility to know what we did to this group of innocent people during one of the major world wars? And aside from that, Hiroshima is a beautiful city with Miyajima Island, a beautiful half- or full-day trip away, as well as the delicious local oysters and okonomiyaki. To me, it’s a win-win to add this city to one’s Japan itinerary.

I gave him my 2-minute pitch, and at the end of it, he said, “I’m sold. Send me all your recommendations there, and I’ll retinker my itinerary.”

That’s what I can sell without even trying: food and and travel.