Sunday, September 2, 2007
Usual oatmeal breakfast. To celebrate Patrick's forthcoming journey to China to teach and do research, his martial arts instructor Simmone who was instrumental in arranging the trip took us out to dim sum brunch along with Sam, who also studies with Simmone. Patrick and I picked up Sam and parked in the garage under Portsmouth Square—perhaps the least expensive garage parking in the entire city. It was the first time I visited her studio, which faces Portsmouth Square. Inside, the walls were lined with photographs, posters, handbrushed Chinese scrolls, news clippings—memorabilia of Simmone's career and family. In a stand near the wall were stored bamboo sticks and other stick-like objects of various lengths. At the far end of the room lay other equipment including a computer and a TV and VCR on a small cart. The day was exceptionally warm. We walked a few short blocks to a restaurant, and along the way Simmone pointed out the famous streets of San Francisco Chinatown—Waverly, Ross Alley, etc. While waiting in the foyer for a table I asked her the name of the restaurant we had entered since I didn't see an English sign on the way in. She said she didn't know—this was simply the place she came where she knew there was good food. The restaurant was packed with a short line as we arrived. We agreed to share a table in order to avoid waiting. Inside, the restaurant was filled with mostly 10-top round tables, and it was packed with almost all Chinese and Asian people. Chinese women served dim sum from carts winnowing the tight passageways among the tables. We shared our table with 2 other parties—one an elderly Chinese man, the other a party of 3 who mostly said nothing. We drank chrysanthemum tea and enjoyed a delicious meal including shu mai, ha gow, char siu bao, rice noodles, bean curd, rice porridge with egg, black sesame roll (sweet). As we left the restaurant, Patrick and I picked up the restaurant's business card: Y. Ben House Restaurant (415-397-3168, 835 Pacific Avenue). Afterwards on the way back to the square we stopped in at a dried foods store where hundreds of dried shark fins and dried sea cucumbers were categorized and priced in glass jars along the wall. Dropped Sam off at home. Patrick and I tried to run an errand at a drug store in Daly City but we couldn't find parking. We drove to another drug store closer to home and they didn't have what we wanted in stock, and it was around this time I realized I could possibly have better spent my time ordering it online and delivering it fedex even though what I wanted was $3 (decorating clips from 3M so that I can retrofit a small room heater with a filter to keep it clean). Spent the rest of the day working on Danny's website and refreshing website backups. Snack: popcorn. Dinner at Danny, Phil, and Drew's with Phil, Danny, Lauren, and K.R. (aka Katie Rose). Drew was in L.A. Danny cooked a yummy beef stew with French bread and steamed rice. For dessert, Nate made lemon tarts from scratch, garnished with fanned strawberry slices and whipped cream from scratch.