-
Beautiful People Tea
This “beautiful people” tea (that translation has been reinforced by 2 other Chinese-speakers) my brother-in-law’s Taiwanese handlers got him to give to me, from China, is really, really good. It’s white Oolong tea, and has these lovely leaves that separate and float. I’ve been brewing it and then using it as ice tea for all…
-
The Bo Po Mo Fo, or Zhuyin Grid
PinYin Combo Chart- amazing grid. From Yellow Bridge. ba pa ma fa da ta na la ga ka ha za ca sa zha cha sha Just a snippet of what my instructor wrote on the board that fateful day of 101 Chinese. In chat this morning with my brother-in-law, we got in a protracted conversation…
-
Personality Shift
A friend of mine recently had a cranial surgery. In a dream last night, I met him, and we hugged, and I noticed he had a different personality. Kind of carefree and happy. He’s usually happy when he sees me, but this was one of those overall personality shifts that you can sense when you…
-
Jade and Chinese Kinship Terms
金縷玉衣- Jin lu yu yi – Jade burial suit, with silk thread I love jade. I just gave my oldest of my niece the name “xiao yu” little Jade. Sounds like a hooker name, but hey, maybe it’s not. I think “silver willow” or “soft ostrich” would be more hooker-sounding. Last night this guy from…
-
Dim Sum Comparison Test
Compare and Contrast. One dim sum stall is on Stockton at Broadway, Louie’s Dim Sum (nummy!!!). One is on Jie Gu Lou Da Jie, in Beijing. You decide. Shu mei, you had me at hello.
-
Sinophile post – those tourists!
I’m walking out of my favorite lunch spot – Columbus Cafe – where I devoured a really yummy schwerma, and saw this phenomenon that occurs about every week here. A huge tour bus of mainland Chinese swarm around me. The tour guide was pointing them up Lombard (from kind of an odd angle, from the…
-
SF at Night
Above photo credit to Carroll Elizabeth San Francisco at Night Because of sickness and a bad adaptibility to jet lag, I’ve seen a lot of SF in pre-dawn and nighttime. I still love it to bits. First an explanation! The above photo is one of those vacation picks that just cracks me up, next to…
-
back from beijing
I’ve finaly gotten enough sleep not to feel dizzy. I flew in yesterday on a small boeing 700 plane yesterday afternoon from the longest journey of my life. It started at 5am in Beijing, checking out of my sleepy hutong-courtyard hotel. The staff there sleep behind the desk in a makeshift bed (six chairs pushed…
-
30 Stockton
Sat in front of Ricos “where tourists meet the locals” and “english spoken here” signage. It’s a popular bar but I kind of hate it. I mean, what a sellout, and there’s a big sign that posts the most recent military ship to further cater to tourist traffic! Anyways, stood with two locals, an elderly…