Cycle 15 – Item 181
POST 5,294
4 (Thu) July 2024
Surf (& Turf)
3.0
at Hahn’s home
-Los Altos, California, USA-
with the Family, Hahn’s family
Summer Holiday in USA (Day 4 of 11)
-
- Day 1 (15.173 Sauteed Pea Sprouts with Garlic)
- Day 2 (15.174 White Clam Chowder (in a Sourdough Bread Bowl))
- Day 3 (15.175 Giants Dog)
- Day 4 (15.176 Prime Rib)
- Day 5 (15.177 Snow Pea Prawns)
- Day 6 (15.178 Albacore Tataki)
- Day 7 (15.179 Chicken Tacos Regular)
- Day 8 (15.180 Classic Beijing Duck)
- Day 9 (15.181 Surf (& Turf))
- Day 10 (15.182 Top)
- Day 11 (15.183 Turbot Fillet)
In the San Francisco Bay Area. With the Family. Their first time in Northern California. The immediate objective was to escort DJ and three of his friends to compete in the finals of a global logic competition at Stanford University, while taking advantage of the opportunity to show the family my hometown/region, including San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Berkeley, and visit my best friend Hahn, who lives in Los Altos, maybe even drop by my childhood home in Saratoga. The itinerary is packed, nearly every hour scheduled with activities. Stay tuned.
After three nights at a hotel in downtown San Francisco, then 4 nights at a rented house in Redwood City, the final 2 nights at Hahn’s place in Los Altos.
BREAKFAST
Hahn lives in a very nice house (even if it doesn’t have air-conditioning) – well done! Regrettably, I forgot to take proper photos of it, except a single shot of the backyard, in the context of a solo breakfast at dawn.
LUNCH
Sogong-Dong Tofu House is a Korean restaurant. Specializes in sundubu jjigae.
Extending GMTD’s Korean Restaurants Abroad series (see KOREAN OUTSIDE KOREA): while USA remains the 1st country, Palo Alto becomes 40th city outside of Korea where I’ve experienced Korean food (actually, I’ve probably had Korean food in Palo Alto when I was a kid, but can’t remember).
This is the kind of conversation that Hahn and I are wont to have.
Me: “Why does the menu say ‘Please Do Not Fold the Menu’ when it’s encased in a plastic? It can’t be folded.”
Hahn: “The plastic is the second line of defense. It started out as just the paper, but customers kept folding it, so they added ‘Please Do Not Fold the Menu,’ and when that didn’t work, they used the plastic.”
Me: “But now that they use the plastic, the warning is unnecessary. Anyway, the menu is designed into three columns, like a folding takeout menu, so of course people would fold it. Anyway, who cares if they fold it? It’s just a piece of paper – use them as disposable place mats.”
Hahn: “So you’re encouraging people to waste paper.”
The food was fine.
But absolutely nowhere near worth $19.94 per bowl, before tax and tip.
SHOPPING
99 Ranch Market is a Taiwanese-American supermarket chain. Ostensibly an “Asian” market, with items geared towards Asian customers, but also offering most of the standard mainstream American products. Founded in 1984, currently 52 locations across the country, mostly in California.
In planning the itinerary, one of the highlights, among many, would be to spend Independence Day with Hahn and his family. Another amazing coincidence, like the Dodgers being in town (see 15.175 Giants Dog), that the holiday falls on the penultimate day of the trip.
After I’d graduated college, while living in an apartment in Albany (just north of Berkeley), 99 Ranch Market opened a branch in Richmond (just north of Albany). I remember the first time entering the store, the explosive smell of raw seafood and meat – more like a wet market than a grocery store. Didn’t really appreciate it back then, though my god how I would embrace it now.
While I would be preparing the prime rib, I was looking forward to the lobster.
DINNER
Given the scorching weather, we elected to forego anything outdoor and instead do something more subdued within.
What a feast!
I’ve concluded that lobster, unless served in a restaurant, is better smaller when prepared at home. Bigger specimens are more expensive to start with, more difficult to cook, and more of a hassle to remove from their shells.
(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See RESTAURANTS IN USA)
(See BOOZE)