Finding A Voice

While it sure has been well over 6 months since I wrote anything on this blog, things have changed a lot. Not just in my life, but also on wordpress ( the widgets and tools).

So over the past 6 months I’ve been swamped building a restaurant from the ground up; physically and figuratively. It’s been tough to really find a voice and build up a presence; just like THIS BLOG. But it is interesting to me that managing a restaurant and managing a blog has a lot of similarities. The one I’ve been having trouble with is finding a voice. 

The least desired position in any management position is middle management. Doesn’t matter if you’re working at Microsoft, Google, Start-ups, Micky D’s, or Nobu, middle management is no fun. Pressure from above and disdain from below is the best way I can summarize it. It will be this way until I find my voice. My voice isn’t shouting and cursing when things don’t get done. It isn’t pointing out and knit-picking all the inconsistencies that happen on a daily basis. For not putting the butter away or wiping down the beer taps. It’s not talking condescendingly at staff because I don’t think they’re the brightest. It’s also not praising them for little milestones they think they’ve achieved. So what is it?  It’s effectively learning how to speak to different people to achieve the same end result. The “Win-Win,” as Covey said in the 7 Habits. Applying the win-win though in any given moment has been one of my biggest challenges. I get defensive. I get emotional. I get stupid. I get angry. I get smart. Everything comes into play when dealing with people. Being self-aware of the situation, slowing down, and questioning myself, at that point I can achieve the max win in the situation that benefits the company.

I say the same thing about my blog. It seems no matter what topic I choose to write about, my voice is the same. I am not a renegade blogger nor am I a blogger on food or travel, well not consistently at least. Until I find my voice….

 

Coffee Upgrade

Coffee is one of my earliest vices. I remember cracking open the vacuum sealed jar of Folgers Coffee the first day of The 7th grade. Following the footsteps of my brother: 2 tablespoons of crystals with 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of coffee mate, all I can really remember from that cup is bittersweet, literally. Fast forward eighteen years my taste buds can no longer accept the ersatz coffee I once enjoyed but feel the nostalgic moment of that particular morning whenever I see the small-sized jars of Folgers crystals in the supermarket aisles.

As this morning ritual beverage evolved over the past twenty years, so has the American acceptance of good coffee, particularly the three States that stretch along the Pacific Coast. For coffee shop owners, much gratitude is given to Starbucks for lifting prices for a cup of joe to a premium. Along with their espresso drinks and ambiance, their business model has proven successful worldwide. Success is an understatement and I definitely had my fair share of Starbucks Pike’s blend. But like Folgers, I have also stopped consuming their coffee and have directed my interest to independent shops. Below are local (San Francisco)brands that built quite a following over the years. I am naming the ones I am familiar with in descending order.

Philz Coffee:
Hands down one of the best cup of coffee you’ll have in the city. Their one cup at a time approach guarantees freshness. I’ve had a handful of their different blends but always succumb to the silken splendor medium roast.
Philz Coffee

Trouble Coffee:
Located in the outside lands (Ocean Beach) area of San Francisco, it has definitely created a buzz in the local community of surfers and artists. The shop itself boasts not more than 200 square feet decorated with eclectic memorabilia from Americas pasts. The seats and counter top made from wood collected from the beach just blocks away.
Get the Gibraltar. You can only consume this goodness at the shop but it’s richness and bold flavor complements a good book, even if it’s only ten minutes.
Trouble Coffee

Royal Jamaica Coffee:
A corner shop located on Pacific if glanced at, you would think it’s a hybrid Jamaican hot sauce // antique coffee shop. With different coffee apparatuses set up on the table including one three-piece titration system, I knew I was in for a story behind the coffee. There two retail coffee products was the 6 hour cup brewed from the titration system with melted ice and a regular cup of Jamaican blue. I settled for the latter. A $5.00 cup that baited and hooked me, I bought 1/2 lb.
Royal Jamaica

Blue Bottle Coffee:
With retail shops around the city and purveyors that carry their coffee you can pretty much get their coffee anywhere.
They have the same approach to Philz with one cup at a time. A variety of blends with Three Africans (super smooth medium roast) and Zemoch (darker blend, hints of citrus) ranking the top two for me. Pastries are good too, try the short bread.
Blue Bottle

Farley’s:
There are two locations, Farley’s in Potrero Hill and Farley’s East in Oakland. My default cafe for getting work done because of its proximity to home, I’ve had their Cafe Americano hundreds of times and it is consistently good.
Farleys

Contraband:
An up and coming cafe located in Nob Hill that has already received rave reviews from local critics. I believe they also blend their own coffee but I’ve only been there once. Left a good impression on me.
Contraband

Living Vicariously Through The Distant Land

SHANGHAI 1930′S

My journey continues into reading more stories of Chinese history in the early 1900’s. The past few weeks I have buried myself in history, culture, and food of my people, quenching the thirst I never knew I really had. My fascination with Shanghai in the 1930’s span from hearing about the glory days of modern China prior to the Communist era. Though my family does not have any blood link to Shanghai, a kindred presence struck me when I lived there a few years ago. In addition, modern-day Shanghai is going through a renaissance and is quickly reliving its past as one of The Big Four Metropolises of the World in the early 1900′s.

Geographically and culturally, I would like to imagine 1930’s Shanghai was very similar to its present day. West of The Bund (PuXi) were the proletariat and impoverished locals separated by spotted districts of foreign concessions. East of the Bund (PuDong) resided generations of wealth, stretching as far as the dynastic reign of erudite Mandarins who had the means to influence city officials. This is exactly the setting for the book “The Distant Land of My Father,” by Bo Caldwell, the book I would like to recommend.

The main character is Annie, a daughter of a Chinese born American father raised by missionary parents and an American mother from Los Angeles. Annie was born in Shanghai at its apex of economic development and opportunities. She knows her father as the provider of the family and the one that showered her with attention; the center of his world. It is a book about neglect and forgiveness. As much as I liked the novel, I thought the fundamental flaw was the lack of character development of the parents, leading to my lack of emotions at their demise. Annie’s life on the other hand was detailed emotionally and physically from her childhood in Shanghai to her adolescence and eventually to parenthood. I particularly enjoyed the historical readings Caldwell displays throughout the book and highly recommend it if you have the same fascination as I do of Chinese history and the War in the Pacific.

Am I a foodie?

Foodie. Such a common word this day and age. Just because I like food doesn’t make me a foodie, or does it?

Growing up in the restaurant environment, foodie was the last thing I wanted to be called. But it totally happened to me over the Labor Day Weekend. Yeah I like to cook and test new methods and recipes, but I never thought of it making it my life but in recent times, maybe it’s not too bad an option. My buddy pointed out during my days off, I spend more time in the kitchen than anywhere else, I beg to differ, but there is some truth to what he said. Some days I would look forward to making pho or ramen (broth only) and invite friends over for dinner after work. That always made me happy after a hard day at the office.

I never thought after leaving the restaurant business growing up I would be returning to it later on in life. But now in my thirties I find myself appreciating it more. The dynamics of the restaurant is like any corporate boiler room; everyone is working in close quarters in a high pressure environment to make sure everything runs smoothly. I like the intensity of the environment, the lack of not knowing what would happen in any given night of awesomeness. Though some times not the most prestigious job, I find it pretty satisfying at the end of the night.

Here are a few reasons to counter the argument that I am a foodie:

1. To past time, I go to local markets and my favorite supermarket Ranch 99 and “browse.”

2. I prefer watching Gordon Ramsay and his condescending management style than say glee or the America’s got _____ shows.

3. My spice rack and pantry of ingredients far exceed my cabinet space.

That’s all I can come up with for now. I can only say that’s not convincing enough. I guess more signs will seep out of me as the years go by. Until then, I’m still in foodie denial. Cheers!

Bangkok Footprints

Muggy with the acrid smell of preserved fish in the air, It was ten minutes after midnight when we stepped out of the airport upon landing in Bangkok. If anything, the cabbies would have thought we were the big fish in a small flight from Beijing, but we proved them wrong. With a little bit of homework and some practice with numbers and directions, we were able to go 20 minutes across town to our hotel for a little under the market rate, $4.00.

Taxi line during a Monsoon

View from the hotel

Bangkok, like any big city, is broken down into numerous districts. Our hotel happened to be in the pulse of Sukhimvit Soi, a district where the local economy is built on foreign exchange windows, restaurants, and small boutique shops catered to Japanese and Korean expats. Izakaya Red lanterns dangled from stretched awnings to cover the storefronts from the notorious monsoons that hit every season. We noticed every detail of this area including the sole reason we came to Bangkok in the first place: street food.
Soon it was a quarter to one, post midnight, with an insatiable appetite for noodle soup. We walked the bustling streets for twenty minutes ignoring solicitations by cabbies and parked ourselves in front of a 7-eleven where a husband and wife tandem served kwe taew (pho). The universal gesture of pointing and nodding helped with the ordering process and curbed our cravings. Steaming hot, savory, light, with slices of pork, scattered vegetables, and fish balls, the perfect meal before a nights’ sleep. It became our default “snack” in the mid afternoon and late night for the rest of the trip, that good…

Midday snack “kwe taew”

The week continued with excursions to what seemed to be like an endless amount of shopping malls was also filled with multiple tuktuk trips to Chinatown where I was able to taste the foods of my childhood; Teochew Cuisine. The cuisine is an amalgamation of Fukien, Taishan, and Canton faire. The best way I can describe it is light but savory with an assortment of deep fried, pan seared, stir fry, and noodle soups. The first thing that caught my eyes were pan fried chive dumplings. The outer crust made with tapioca starch and rice flour; Inside a mixture of chives and garlic with an assortment of spices. A moment of nostalgia hit me like a brick wall at first bite, memories of my grandmother churning the 180psi ball of dough on the stove, bless her heart.

Back of a tuktuk

Chive Dumplings

One of my last days in Bangkok was spent at the Rattanokhosin Exhibit. For those who have been following the political situation in Thailand, the 3-story exhibit guides you through the life of King Rama IX. His altruism is displayed through portraits of himself with the rural poor and elderly through the latter half of the 20th Century. As a tourist visiting this exhibit, I cannot help but sense the reverence the Thai people have for Him. And once again as a tourist, I can only stay neutral. The next couple of pictures are scenic views inside the museum.

View from a Window facing West

I wanted to capture the brightness of the sun within the colors of the interior, turned out well

Bangkok is too vast to cover all the grounds that I walked on without having to write a travel guide. All in all I would definitely have to return for another visit in the future. My next stop: Chaing Mai

The First Roll – Canon AE-1

So it seems the Digital SLR cameras are as ubiquitous as yester-years Polaroids. While I have always wanted to purchase one, I noticed that even with my point and shoot, rarely would I go print the photos out. So I figured it wasn’t worth it because my photos would be left in the hard drive collecting digital dust and be viewed only when nostalgia seeps into my every thought.

Sometime in January of 2008, while still living in Osaka, I went along for a ride to Kawachinagano with Sachiko because she needed to pick up some prints at a camera shop. Liking retro and pretty much everything with history and a soul, it was there I saw my future camera. The 1978 Canon AE-1 calling at me at eye-level for 12,500 Yen. I loved the simple retro black and gray design made of stainless steel which spelled out: q-u-a-l-i-t-y. Since then, I also own a 1977 Yashica Electro 35, which I have yet to use…..sadly.

Moving on to my first roll of film. I clumsily tried to figure out how to load it with no historic camera background except for my point and shoot. I failed miserably. So I researched online and landed on a full on Canon AE-1 website, What Love!! Usually I have a DIY mentality, but I did not want to waste another roll. I took it to a local camera shop and while the owner was fiddling with it, he eventually taught me and said “Natsukashi (literally meaning I miss this),” I was on my way to photography bliss.

For The First Roll of film I used a Fuji Xtra 400. I really did not know what I was getting into. I just figured adjust the focus, play with the aperture, and follow the meter when I look through the lens. I started taking pictures around Namba, each shot taking at least 45 seconds to a minute long to get all the functions right. It was Winter, so the skies weren’t blue, but had more of an overcast, which is what I like anyway.

Ebisu Bridge and the notorious Glico Man

Right Below Dotombori Bridge

Kani Doraku – Famous Crab Only Restaurant

The next two photos are combinations of a tattoo parlor that I’m sure belonged to some yakuza clan and also my last meal in Osaka, Tonkatsu Ichiban. Both taken indoors with different lighting which is apparent in the photo. It was a little dark so the food is a little off-center, but nonetheless turned out good.

The owner was so honored that I chose his shop for the last meal he gave me two tonkatsu chops, I was sad to leave.

The awesome mom and pop of “Tonkatsu Ichiban,” in Sekai-Shi.

The lovely tattoo artists

These next photos were shot in Beijing, my destination after leaving Osaka. Again with no lighting adjustments or flash and just the pure beauty of this camera, here are a few samples of indoor outdoor shots while my first day in Beijing. I especially like the shots of the pool table! Dark and gloomy lighting but still so crisp….

Factory right next to a high school in Wang Jing district

2008 Olympic Mascots

Midnight Pool – Echo

Midnight Pool – Hank

That about does it for my first photo blog. It was great reminiscing while sorting out the photos for this. That was almost four years ago and I would like to say I have improved since then, at least I hope so. I am close to an upgrade but still using the AE-1. In the mean time, I still have photos that I’ve taken with my Canon AE-1 that are both collecting digital dust(hard drive) and physical dust(negatives). I know I’m a hyprocrite…..

My First Encounter with The Glass Palace

The Glass Palace by: Amitav Ghosh

A recent book I picked up took me to a place that I’ve always dreamed about, British and French Indochina. I don’t know exactly why I am so intrigued of this time period, perhaps it’s because I grew up hearing stories from my grandparents. Being half Cambodian and half Burmese, there is definitely an affinity to these countries that I have yet to step foot in.

The book is about an orphaned Indian boy named Rajkumar who found his way East of India to Mandalay, Burma. He finds petty work in the streets making baya kyaw (falafel) for Ma Cho, until meeting a Chinese-Malaccan businessman, Saya John, who changes his life forever. During this time the British Navy sales up The Irrawaddy River embarking the beginning of British Colonial Burma. Rajkumar, among the rainfall of gunfire and artillery shells from British soldiers ends up inside The Glass Palace. He encounters British troops escorting Thibaw Min (The Last Emperor of Burma) and The Royal Family out of The Palace into the unknown. At this time he meets Dolly, a servant for the Princesses working in The Palace and becomes his future wife.

The book further brings in an intricate number of both main and supporting characters that envelop the life of Rajkumar. It spans three generations detailing the times of prosperity and turmoil including the occupation of Imperial Japan to the transition of the current ruling regime, The Military Junta. Ghosh is poetic with his word choice and transitions stories from the three generations with fluidity. A great read in my opinion and highly recommended if you have any interest of this period in time in South Asia.

Sixty

Rokkujoo is actually the number 60 in Japanese. I decided to use this because I frequented a bar under this name while living in Osaka. The name carries no significance to what I write about, just a random name….