The New Zealander Restaurant/Pub in Alameda, CA serves up an impressive array of Kiwi favourites (next time, I'll try the sausage rolls or Kiwi-syle burgers). First and foremost, and not coincidentally the first photo above, are the pies. Definitely a lovely reminder of the wonderful pies found throughout Aotearoa. The pastry is spot on and they get another thumbs up for using proper Kiwi cheese, but the rest of the filling isn't quite up to par with what I'm used to (e.g. Bernie's Bakery in Brownsy). Regardless, I'm still extremely happy I can get a pie fix here, even if it is in East Bay. Pictured second is the Pavlova. Now, if only they had Tip Top ice cream and L&P...
Quick picture update with some of the things I saw this weekend. Here goes!
Started at SFO which, if you didn't already know, has free exhibits (some before and some after security). This is a Wayne Thiebaud painting of the crazy streets in SF.
This is a picture from an exhibit called Dancing Trees and is my favourite from the collection. I kinda cheated because this pic & the previous one were actually taken last week when I was at SFO catching a flight.
Anyways, back to this weekend, the International Terminal at SFO has a brilliant little museum open to the public on weekdays till 4:30pm. They had a private function on saturday night but luckily one of the hosts was gracious enough to let us walk in and look around before the party kicked off. Thanks Gary. Anyways, this is a large globe that was a Pan Am icon.
Model of a Sikorsky S-42 Flying Boat as operated by Pan Am.
Old United Airlines Captain's Uniform.
Old Pan Am Captain's Uniform.
Various model aircraft. That's Gary behind the glass. Thanks again!
Outside of the museum proper, but still in the International terminal, there was a giant wall of art made up of little handmade squares. I quite like the one in the middle of this one.
This exhibit of Airline related children's toys is in Terminal 1. I'm almost 100% positive that I have this exact kit from Pan Am back home. Thanks Mum!
Pan Am toy airplane. Also looks similar to a toy I had as a child (though I'm positive I didn't have this exact one).
A Pan Am aviator bear. A "cousin" of Roy BIA (Bear in the Air...a United Airlines bear that my elementary school class sent out to travel the world).
If you're passing through SFO (or you happen to live nearby) it would be a travesty not to see all of these great exhibits that they have here at the airport! Go check it out!!!
Lisa Hannigan performed live this sunday at the Apple Store in SF. What an amazing live performer! If you haven't heard of her, check out "I Don't Know" sometime soon!!! And, on an aside, the Apple Store is such an awesome, intimate location for a little gig like this!
Bento box from Delica RF-1 located in the Ferry Building in SF. Awesome food. In that box, you can see Green Beans with Sesame Dressing, Hijiki and Soybean Salad, Potato Croquette & a Chicken/Tofu patty. Thumbs up!
Homemade chicken soup using costco chicken! SOO GOOD and perfect for the (flu) season.
Still much to see and do here. Though I still want to work/live abroad, I'll concede it ain't half bad here in the Bay Area. Cheers to my friends in the neighbourhood and also to those of you who have visited recently.
Briefly stopped by LA to catch the Men's Oxy Soccer Team play on Saturday night with my parents. Game time meant I missed out on seeing USC pull out a late victory over OSU (I stopped watching just as they started the game winning drive) but I'm grateful that we won that game and that I saw Oxy win theirs as well
If you ask me, #14 looks like he's just taking a break on the soccer field.
90 minutes, 2 goals and a bum ankle later, Deryck still has a smile on his face.
Well, it was hot and smokey when I dropped by for a visit a couple weekends ago so I think the title is apt.
Might be hard to see, but that reads 116 degrees F! Actually, this was in Gilroy on the way down to LA. Not a particularly encouraging start to the drive.
New Zealand ice cream is available in the US! Sure, it isn't Tip Top Brand but it's good to see Hokey Pokey available. Grant & I each bought a pint from the Albertsons near his apartment before we settled down to play Resident Evil 5.
Denver Omelette and hashbrowns from Uncle Bill's Pancake house in Manhattan Beach. Kurt had a flight to catch so Darren & I caught an "early" breakfast with him. Food was pretty decent (actually, Kurt's french toast was pretty tasty) but this place certainly was no Boots & Kimo. Regardless, it was good seeing most of my old roommates in the same weekend.
Downtown LA as seen from the 110 freeway. That big mushroom cloud looking thing is the smoke emanating from the Angeles National Forest burning. Isn't this place lovely? I saw this sight on my way to have dinner w/Bro, Darren, Priscilla, Ryan, Josh & Co.
And this is what was causing all that smoke. A bit blurry, but the best my camera could do from a distance. We can't all have a front row seat to the fire like Traci...
As much as I dislike this city for all that is wrong with it, I find myself amazed by it every now and then. Here's the view from the Griffith Observatory on a (relatively) clear night (before the long drive back north). I'll definitely have to come back here to check out the Observatory (and view again) as this time 'round, I arrived just as it was closing.
Thanks to everyone who I was able to meet up with and for those who housed me over the two brief nights I dropped by. Apologies for those I missed. I hope I'll see you all again not too long from now. Cheers!
I won't be home any time soon, but luckily I had a taste of home here on the Mainland. Lau lau, poke, pipikaula, lomi salmon and kalua pig just to name a bit...
*UPDATED* So, I went on a little trip to NZ...more on that in a future post. I'm just gonna skip over that for now and share with you all other things that have gone on...
Let's start with Devin (again). Here I am with the latest member of the Inouye-Wong clan on his day of birth.
In the past, I referred to this one-off dish as "zucchini surprise", but I think "zucchini hodge podge" makes more sense. Off the top of my head, I remember zucchini, carrot, egg, milk, panko, potato and garbanzo beans. It actually tasted way better than it looked...
Hiked (sorta) around the James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Tried to go during a nice day in the Bay but the coast can be so fickle at times.
An unexpected spectator (he/she had a lot of friends poking their heads out of the water too). Who's watching who?
Vasso Azzuro in Mt. View (in addition to having very good food) puts on a good show for b-days. Dimmed lights, operatic vocal stylings, tiramisu cake w/tall candle and a saxophone to boot. Mighty impressive. Hope you enjoyed the experience Brandon. And, happy b-day.
Kumamoto oyster from the Hog Island Oyster Co. I'm no oyster fan by any stretch of the imagination but these suckers were actually pretty good.
My fellow oyster shuckers: Jessica, Jason & Jeff. We bbq'd on a beautiful day just on the shore of Tomales Bay
And after stuffing ourselves full of shellfish & various grilled meats, we continued to enjoy the good weather by heading over to Stinson Beach.
To cap off an awesome day, we went to this "romantical" lookout to get this great photo of us in front of the Golden Gate Bridge during 'golden hour.'
We've still got a bit more summer left so let's enjoy the warmth! Adieu for now.
I love my family. I had a blast seeing everyone together for the first time ever.
Callum, Karen, Jordan, Paula, Brittany, Deryck, Andrea, Caitlin, Linda, Michael, Dad, Joshua, Gung Gung, Po Po, Ayden, Mum, Lance, Me, Taran & Lindsay.
Love this country! More to come when I'm back stateside. For now, GO THE ALL BLACKS!
Congratulations to Julie & Richard for the birth of their baby boy: Devin Wong. Mother and son are healthy after an earlier than expected arrival.
Daniel, best of luck on being an uncle and make sure he doesn't inherit your tendency for injury!
Howdy folks. Three quick pics to share with you relating to Pink Martini. Here we go.
So, Hang On Little Tomato happens to be the name of the 2nd album by Pink Martini. For those of you not familiar with this wonderful band, they have been described as a "little orchestra" who play "music of the world without being world music." Do yourself a favour and look them up. Anyhow, getting sidetracked just a little bit, the little tomato depicted above represents the first produced by my very own tomato plant. So proud of the tomato, and inspired by the Pink Martini song, I actually carried this tomato to the top of Mt. Whitney. I had planned to take a photo with it at the summit but altitude and a sense of urgency to continue conspired against me resulting in no photo at the summit. Nonetheless, the little tomato hung on and tasted all the more sweet after the epic journey.
Speaking of Pink Martini, I had the privilege of seeing them perform last week with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Bloody brilliant show. While they did not play the tomato song, they flawlessly played a number of their other hits and a few newer ones too. I'm extremely happy that I had the opportunity to be there to enjoy the performance. Perhaps I could be so bold as to suggest they personify the artistry of music.
Not content with playing beautiful music, the band kindly stayed after the show to greet fans. Mari & I got a photo with Peggy Forbes (mother of the lead singer) and Thomas Lauderdale (pianist extraordinaire and band leader). Worth the (20+ minute, bet winning) wait I must say.
So the take home message? Go listen to Pink Martini. Awesome.
I reached the summit of the tallest peak in the contiguous US. I still kinda can't believe it. First impression of the feat is that it was more fun in hindsight than it was during the actual hike (it was particularly difficult on the return). More to come for sure. Just wanted to share this first pic. Cheers!
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