The Qsuite experience on Qatar Airways and melatonin for baby

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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.

When the in-laws see us off… from our own apartment

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Thanks to a stubborn dad and even more stubborn son, our travel to Kerala and Sri Lanka is actually starting while Chris’s parents are still here. Chris had told his dad not to book certain dates that could interfere with our summer travel; his dad was insistent on getting specific dates for their frequent flyer/round the world flight bookings, and so while we are leaving for Kerala tonight, Chris’s parents will be spending two more nights in our apartment until they leave on Wednesday morning for Melbourne, connecting in Dallas. What a strange idea to think of my in-laws seeing us off… from our own home.

So we gave them instructions in terms of things they had to finish eating (two mangoes, two avocados, cherries, grapes), and how to take out the trash and recyclables before they leave. What we also wonder is: what will they do in New York while Chris isn’t here to drag them from point A to point B, being their de facto tour guide and control freak son?

The Polish Bakery apple cake and my father-in-law’s listening skills

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Today, we took Chris’s parents to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. We stopped by a semi-recent favorite spot that we’ve found: Old Poland Bakery, which is a tiny little bakery that sells an assortment of fresh breads, cakes, and other pastries. I picked up some apple cake and babka for later, and we kept going. We had a late lunch (at Di an Di! One of our faves!), so we were quite stuffed and didn’t have a regular dinner that evening. But when we got home, I insisted that we had to eat the apple cake I picked up from the Polish bakery; surely, they had to have some space for a little sweet? So Chris’s mom responded and said she’d have a small slice. Chris responded and said, no, everyone has to have their full slice (I got enough for four people, since the bakery charges for these cake slices by weight). We served the cake to Chris’s mom after Chris’s dad insisted he didn’t want any since he was too full. His mom offered it to dad, who said, “OK, I’ll just take a bite.” What ended up happening? Well, without even realizing it, he ate half of her slice, and then said quite loudly, “Oh, this is actually quite light.” Chris’s mom got mad, responding, “Tony! Just say that you want your whole piece!” (This was his usual code for, “I want more, but I don’t want to explicitly say it”). So Chris gave him his whole piece, which he ended up inhaling in just minutes. And when Chris’s dad was almost done, with just a few bites remaining, he turned to me and said, “Yvonne, this cake is absolutely delicious. Did you make it?”

I shared this story with Chris’s brother over text, to which he responded, “This story sums up Dad to a T: Not listening, saying he doesn’t want food, then eating all of Mum’s, and even has an example of Chris being a control freak.” All in all, it was a perfect summary of the von Jacob family dynamics.

Kaia’s kimchi eating impresses the Korean waitress

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Yesterday night at Korean BBQ, Kaia really stole the heart of the server who was helping us with our barbecue. Not only did she impress her by being able to eat kimchi (“SHE KNOWS HOW TO EAT KIMCHI?” the server asked me, astonished. “Yeah,” I responded. “I’ve been giving it to her since she was about 8 months old.” She then proceeded to tell one of the other wait staff this, who also murmured with amazement back), but she also impressed her with her vocabulary (being able to say “meat” and “beef!”), as well as blowing kisses. When Kaia finally got loose after she was “all done” with dinner, she started wandering around the restaurant, and each time she got close to our server, she’d demand a hug, which of course was given by our server, who clearly was obsessed with our demanding little toddler.

I wonder what the maximum age is when a little kid’s cuteness can no longer be the show stopper that Kaia is now. Everywhere we go, people stop us and oogle over what a little doll she is. And once she starts blowing kisses… it’s almost like everyone just wants to take her home with them.

When your father-in-law gets a bit drunky

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Chris was out with his parents and Kaia this afternoon. They went to Central Park and the playground there to let Kaia burn some energy and have fun with the sprinklers. They eventually made their way to the Other Half Brewery at Rockefeller Center, where I met them after I finished my work day. As soon as I arrived, I thought that Chris’s dad seemed quite happy… a bit happier than he normally is. While he’s always the kind of person who sees the bright side in things and always is deeply appreciative of the littlest things, this time, he just seemed a bit… TOO happy, as in, did he have too much to drink? By the time I had arrived, each of the adults had already consumed one full sized beer each, plus a beer flight. To me, that sounds like quite a bit of alcohol per person, and for Chris’s dad, it was probably a wee bit too much. He kept remarking how amazing of a day they’d had, what a great trip this was, over and over and over again. It was a lot more frequent and with a much bigger smile than usual. Then, we went to eat Korean BBQ at a restaurant across the street from the brewery, and again, over and over, he kept declaring that this was the very best Korean restaurant and food he’d ever had in his life, that this was just the best of the best. And the other three adults kept chuckling, remarking how drunk he was, and carried on. Plus, on the way home, he kept poking and slapping Chris’s mom, who kept raising her voice at him and telling him to knock it off because he was embarrassing her.

It was quite amusing, and quite the sight to see. While I’ve always known Chris’s dad as a person who does quite enjoy alcoholic beverages, and wine in particular, I don’t recall ever seeing him in a state I’d label as “drunk” before, and it’s been quite some time — over 11 years! It was good to see him let loose and have some fun.

Playing dress up with baby

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When our ex-nanny was here, she frequently said that if she had it her way, Kaia would have had anywhere from 5-7 outfit changes per day. Her rationale was: babies grow so fast, and so they don’t have much time to get too many wears out of their clothing. So the only way to maximize the wears was to have them wear a different outfit every few hours. While that is way too high maintenance for me, I also did not let the nanny do this just because I thought it was ridiculous. But when it comes to certain outfits, I do have my favorites, and one of the most recent ones is an Indian outfit, a top and a long skirt, that was handed down from a friend of mine, whose kids are also Indian and Chinese. Her husband, while on a work trip to Delhi, purchased the outfit for their daughter, who has since outgrown this, so she gave this to Kaia. I decided that Kaia would wear this while attending a Lincoln Center Summer in the City kids’ concert called My Paati’s Saris: Dance Story Time. And when I put her in the magenta and gold-flecked two-piece outfit, which fit her perfectly, Chris’s parents went absolutely nuts. They tried to photograph her in every which way possible to get the best angle. Even Chris’s brother was obsessed and made the photo I shared his lock screen photo on his phone. Little babies and toddlers wearing different outfits, especially cultural ones, is just the cutest sight. No one can resist them!

Kaia’s Chinese

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At 18 months of age, Kaia is extremely verbal. We’ve been excited to hear her constantly say new words and match words to objects or actions. I’ve been curious to understand at what age children are able to differentiate what language they are speaking or is being spoken, and how they are able to map that out in their minds. So far for her Chinese, most regularly, she says “xi shou” for “wash hands.” She’s also said “xi fa” for wash hair, and “mian” for noodles. I know she also associates “shui jiao” with “sleep” because she always whines and whinges whenever I say it around bedtime, then tries to make a beeline out of her bedroom. But for other things, I’m not always sure.

This morning, I was giving her breakfast, and the final part of it was sliced red grapes. I held up a bunch of grapes and asked her, “Kaia, what’s this?” She immediately smiled and responded, “Pu tao, pu tao.” In that moment, Chris’s mom got confused and asked, what is she saying? But I knew exactly what she said and just felt so damn proud. I felt like my whole body lit up.

“Pu tao! YES, BABY! That’s right! Pu tao! That’s ‘grape’ in Chinese!” I exclaimed, excitedly.

I was a bit worried when she started daycare because they always sing English songs, and it was very clear that she preferred her English songs to the Chinese nursery rhymes I’d sing her. She used to know a couple of the Chinese song verses and sing them, and even our ex-nanny noticed this. But once daycare started, she stopped, so I wasn’t sure if she’d even want to sing the Chinese songs anymore. But with this single act of saying “pu tao,” that worry got put to rest, and my hope for her continuing to learn Chinese was reignited.

Lion’s Mane and Maitake (Hen of the Woods) Mushrooms from Baltimore Farmers Market

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As soon as I purchased the lion’s mane and maitake mushrooms on Sunday, I was already excited about making them when we got home. I knew that given both would have delicate flavors and meaty textures that I’d want to lightly pan sear them with a little olive oil, a bit of butter, and season simply with sea salt and pepper. I remember I had also purchased a container of ricotta last week, so they’d go really well together on some crusty bread slices and a drizzle of olive oil. So that’s how I made them this morning. Unfortunately, to get the nice brown sear on both sides, I did create some smoke on my carbon steel pans, which did not sit well with Pookster’s eyes or our air purifier, even with the stove fan on high blast, but I had no choice. But at least it wouldn’t last too long. With one bite of both the maitake and the lion’s mane, and I knew that this purchase was absolutely worth it: the lion’s mane had this interesting, meaty, almost scallop like texture with a light flavor. The maitakes were a bit crunchy and had a deep, earthy flavor. I was obsessed with both and wish I had four times the amount. But if I did, I’d have spent $80, which I wasn’t really going to do with mushrooms… at least, not this time. These mushrooms looked, felt, and tasted extremely luxurious. I just love, love fungus — of the edible variety.

Visiting U.S. historical sites + recognizing that history affects our today and tomorrow

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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.

A welcome surprise: the diversity and vibrancy of the Baltimore Farmers Market

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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.