autumn in boston

I'll be returning to warmer temperatures in a couple days when I head back to Miami, but it's always nice to see New England's fall foliage. That said, spending time here (especially at Mather) has definitely made me miss the good old days when I was still a student... Good thing I'll be back soon (even if it will be even colder)!

小龙包

I haven't posted in a long time, mainly because China blocked access to blogger, but I'm not going to deny that I am also very lazy. However, since I'm stuck in an ugly dorm room I thought I would write about something, and what better thing to write about than the tastiest Shanghainese treat ever?

Friends, meet the 小龙包 (xiao3 long2 bao1)。


Unlike traditional 饺子, these bad boys also have soup inside of them. So to eat them, you poke a hole, suck out the soup (the Chinese love to slurp very loudly to show their enjoyment) and then eat the rest.


They usually come in a little bamboo basket like the one above. I'm not sure how many people usually eat, but I like to consume at least 15 at a time. Yes, I know I'm a glutton.


My favorite soup dumplings come from Din Tai Fung (unfortunately, the only restaurant they have in the US is in LA). In Boston, you can go to Chinatown's Taiwan Café, and in New York you can go to Joe's Shanghai (there's one in Chinatown, another on 56th between 5th and 6th, and another in Queens!).


The end to a delicious meal! Now who wants to go eat some xiaolongbao with me?

16 days

In 16 days I will be on my way to Asia, something I'm totally excited about but something which also totally frightens me. The itinerary was modified yet again, but tickets are almost all purchased and most hotel reservations have been made.

Kai and I will be starting off in Saigon, and move our way up Vietnam, passing through Hoi An, Hué and Hanoi, until making our way into Luang Prabang, Laos. Then we'll fly to Siem Reap in Cambodia, where we will meet up with my mom. After visiting Angkor Wat, we'll all head into Thailand where we'll make stops in Chiang Mai and Bangkok. After this, Kai will jet back to Boston, and my mom and I will go to Beijing, after which we'll finish this whirlwind tour in Shanghai. In Shanghai I'll take my 6 week Chinese course. After that, I was considering going into Tokyo - if prices aren't too prohibitive (was considering going to Tokyo instead of Beijing to meet up with Nams & Jen, but the flight from Tokyo to Shanghai was, at its cheapest, about $1,100 according to expedia last time I checked) and then go back home. After all this it will be Boston to look for apartments and finally move to start my new job. These next 6 months are going to fly by so quickly, I hope I'm ready!

classying it up on south beach

Girls' evening (i.e., me, Faequa and my mom) getting pedicures at Bliss and dinner at Nobu...plus failed attempt at getting drinks at the Delano. Nobu was cool and the food great, but the decor was a little on the shabby-retro side with really low ceilings, so I wasn't too keen on it. The food also seemed to be lacking compared to the restaurant in NYC.

Some sweet champagne cocktails...

Mom's fave: rock shrimp. Which was not nearly as good as the rock shrimp in NYC.

Banana ice cream tempura.

Swing at the Shore Club.

Cool light at the Delano. So the Delano is usually kind of subdued and classy apparently (dunno, I've never been), but on the night we went, it was... well, it was crazy. Loud-chicks-in-thong-bikinis-and-high-heels crazy. I've never seen so much booty before.

Apparently you can have romantic dinners on the pool at the Delano. Check out the cute wrought iron chairs and table situated in the water.

The Delano also has sweet wheelbarrow chairs so you can take dorky pictures like these.

beach day gone awry

running away from the storm.

a bite of provence

One of my favorite (favourite?) places in London has to be Hummingbird Bakery. I found it while I was in Notting Hill and it is now one of my favorite bakeries ever (alongside Ladurée in Paris and Buttercup in NYC). While I perused their cookbook, I found a recipe for lavender cupcakes. Well... I absolutely love lavender and I'm a big fan of flower-infused deserts and drinks (see: St. Honoré à la rose, Lorina violette, etc) so I had to get it.

After some googling, I found Harms Vineyard where I could purchase lavender flowers, and a week later my mom and I started baking. We first had to infuse the flowers in whole milk overnight (we actually did it during the day, for about 6 hours..).

We then strained the flowers and added the milk to our batter of sugar, flour, butter, baking powder and egg. Once we put the cupcakes in the oven, we started on the frosting, which also included some lavender-infused milk.

The cupcakes came out delicious.


YUM!

ahem

I've started this blog essentially out of boredom. Since I've graduated, I've sat around my house with a lot of time and very little to do. In a few weeks I will begin my travels through Asia, so I thought that this would be a good time to begin a blog that would chronicle the adventures I will experience in these new places.

My current itinerary through Asia currently includes:
1. Luang Prabang, Laos
2. Hanoi, Vietnam
3. Hue, Vietnam
4. Hoi An, Vietnam
5. Saigon, Vietnam
6. [Phnom Penh, Cambodia]
7. Siem Reap, Cambodia
8. Chiang Mai, Thailand
9. Bangkok, Thailand
10. Beijing, China
11. Shanghai, China (where I will be taking a 6 week Chinese course)

Of course, things are still subject to change, especially since tickets still have yet to be purchased and dates are still in flux. We'll see how things go, but I'm very excited.

Until then, see you later, peeps.