Day Off

I had the day to myself yesterday to wander around San Francisco. I started in Russian Hill and walked up Polk St (south). I stopped at Quetzal to get a mango-banana-pineapple smoothie. It was delicious. I then went to an Indian grocery store, New India Bazzar, not too far down the road. It's a very small store, especially compared to what I'm used to (Mayuri in Redmond). But they had some idly mix and some chutney powder which was what I was looking for. I still didn't have my debit card on me, so I had to get at least $15 worth to use my credit card. I made out with some papads, cashews and a pongal mix.

I continued walking south then east in order to get through Chinatown. It felt like home again. I miss chinatowns - I realize more and more that Seattle's lack of a decent chinatown makes me sad. I only had one dollar bill on me, so couldn't splurge on all the amazing food I saw - I passed on the boxes of mangoes, fresh made dumplings and bakery sweets like dan-ta (egg custard). Instead, I spent 90 cents to get my lunch: a cha-siu bao (bbq pork bun) and a mantou (steamed sweet roll). It was amazingly delicious. The place was on the right, walking north on Stockton. Its whole front counter was completely dedicated to steamed breads - huge vats of water and steamer baskets. It was like a little piece of heaven.

I continued north and west, crossing over the hill via Vallejo, climbing up the hundreds of stairs and enjoyed the view from the top. I rested at Yoko's trying to get some work done. But the free wireless available was being extremely flaky and driving me nuts. I looked up other free hotspots and considered going to Notes from the Underground, which was a close enough walk. However, by then, I had firmed up plans to meet Theresa at her hotel. She was in town for business. And the Courtyard Marriott she was staying at advertised free wireless in the lobby. So I packed up and took off towards downtown.

I got a chance to look at my cousin's pictures from his recent annual Memorial Day bbq. I also happened on another album - one dedicated to my uncle, his late father. I had only just arrived in France when he passed away and wasn't able to attend the funeral. Looking through the pictures made me miss him and regret not being able to spend more time with him. I think this is part of what drives me to go to Taiwan - to spend time with my only remaining grandparent.

KC and Grr were kind enough to pick Theresa and I from the lobby and drive us over to Richmond, the new Chinatown district. We met Abby at a Burmese place on California and 6th called Mandalay. There were a few interesting dishes (tea leaf salad, rainbow salad) but I think I like a well made Peking duck over the tea-smoked duck there.

This morning I made idlies for breakfast - mix 1 part idly mix with 1.5 parts water. Spoon into greased idly pan and steam for 12-15 minutes. Serve with chutney (chutney powder mixed with oil). Simple and delicious.