Penang Review

Place: Penang in Chantown
Address: 685 Washington St.
Boston, MA
Url: http://www.2nite.com/penang/home.htm - just to warn you their site really sucks
Time: Lunch on Sat. 1/28

The first thing any visitor who is a chinatown veteran will notice is that A) a cockroach didn't scamper by and B) the interior design and the prices are definitely un-chinatown like. Upon further examination I give the overall decor a "hey, I can take my date here and not be embarrassed."

The waiters were fairly attentive and did not try to feign not knowing english well. Even though it is supposedly a "malaysian" restaurant, the menu has more of a fusion asian feel. I ordered the "salted fish fried rice", a red bean shake and mango chicken for Keith. I also ordered some satay beef skewers and roti-canai(a type of bread with curry as dipping sauce). The waiters were fairly attentive and the orders filled in a resonable timeframe. The salted fish was almost exactly what I was looking for - flakes of dried salted fish in shrimp fried rice that was lightly stir-fried and not overpowered by any sauces. My only complaint is that perhaps the flakes of dried salted fish can be smaller.

The red bean shake, is as usual, excellent - I love the sprinkle of red bean powder on top. The mango chicken, their signature dish, is a perfect blend of mango sweetness and tanginess.

Overall, I came away stuffed, happy and sleepy, a perfect end to a great lunch.

Now if they only offer private hammock rooms after I finish stuffing myself silly. :)

Top Ten Reasons Why The "Silver Line" is not a subway

Took the "Silver Line" today. As I waited, and wait, and then encountered the new "collection machine", it promptly raised my blood pressure and want to tear the head off whoever thought up this stupid thing in the first place.

Which screwy politician thought this scheme up??? They all need to be fired! We all need to start to join the BadTransit board and heckle the hell out of these miscreants.

Top 10 Reasons why the "Silver Line" is not a subway line:

10. Car vs T - the T usually wins because they are build like tanks. But not the Silver Line - it seems to be build more like a oversized pinto
9. When did street traffic in Boston, regardless of what you are, ever be considered "rapid"?
8. Hmm...let's see...no "sub"or tunnel of any kind involved in Washington St.?
7. Dedicated right of way my ass. Guess where they shovel the excess snow?
6. It's a first that I saw a fare collection system that SLOWs down the rate of collection, rather than speeding it up and making if more efficient
5. You can't get accidentally electricuted because....it doesn't run on electricity!
4. Rubber wheels
3. Why is it 90 cents (like a regular bus fare) instead of $1.25? Sounds like an implicite acknowledgement to me
2. They spent $150 or so million dollars (of which $130 can't really be accounted for - ok, I made that up, but I bet that's close). Real manly subway cost real manly prices - like 10 billion dollars NYC is spending on 2nd Ave Subway.

And the #1 reason why the "Silver Line" is not a subway line is.....

1. Ummm...it's a bus

Review of "Stand Up and Sing, Harp Lady!"

So this past Sunday I paid a return visit to see Deborah Henson-Conant at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway. So how was she this year in comparison to the show last year?

Well, her custom blue harp certainly rocks :) It has a multi-coat finish that gleamed under the stage light and has a rockstar guitar feel. I got there late so I didn't really hear her opening number but of the rest about 1/2 of the material I have not heard before. She likes to set up her pieces with stories and banter. It is those segments the she seemed to have toned down her double entendre since it was a matinee show and there were many children. I love how the kids in the audience were laughing at something completely different than what I was laughing at. It's kinda like a bugs bunny cartooon when he dresses up as a woman to fool Elmer Fudd :)

The music was just awsome. She loves to show how the electric harp can do more than just the classics. She like to use the large number of strings and scales to mimic many other instruments on the harp. She played an mexican guitar sounding piece that was just totally haunting. Her blues numbers are appropriately soulful and her voice conveys the moods perfectly. Her music was all over the map - from blues to spanish guitar to (only a little this time) rock to classical/orchestral compositions. I love the eclectic nature of her set. It was an awsome afternoon out and if she's around your area you should definitely check her out. You can check out her website at http://www.hipharp.com.

Day 10 - San Francisco

Ha, another city by the bay, and what a different city than the one I remembered. The overcast, grey clouds were the same. The rest of the city was different. It is cleaner and dirtier at the same time. I was a little bewildered at first because I didn't know where to go. I just decided to drive along the waterfront and went by the PacBell, or whatever it's called now, park. I checked the web the night before and saw that there is this kayaking along Bay Bridge trip in the morning at 10 am, so I woke up bright and early for it. I called them. No answer. I'm like "ah...but they'll be there, right? I mean, they posted it on their website!". So I got there, and waited. 10 am came and went. Nobody. By 10:20 I realize that nobody was probably coming so I gave up. Damn I wish I called them earlier and set up a kayaking trip. The water was calm and look so inviting.
Anyhow, undetered, I rented a bike and started to bike around the waterfront. Went through the farmer's market that was going on at the old rail station. Man was it lively! I got full just by trying out all the fruits and different samples from the vendors. I miss having a lot of fresh fruit like I did growing up.

I biked up to Fishermen's Warf and checked out the seals on Pier 39. They were so cute and I totally got into tourist mode and snapped away.
I tried to cram as much as I can into a single day. In the process I went by chinatown, the presidio and too many hills to count. I HAD to drive that really windy road and if it wasn't for the slowpoke car in front of me driving at 3 mph I would've had a blast. There were many skid marks on the concrete indicating that there were people who were more beligerant about the turns than I was :)

Anyhow, I ended the day going to Fremont to visit Tsu-Hei. It's fun to reconnect with someone I haven't talked to for a few years and see how they are doing. The whole CA lifestyle cracks me up - the condos surrounded by covered parking like they are island oasis away from the pavement ocean that lay before them. She sounds like she's beginning to have seconds thoughts about being an elementary school teacher. Ha, yeah, I would too - the reason why I'm not :) Anyhow, we eneded the night eating sushi then renting "40 Year Old Virgin". So a mellow end to a pretty active day.

Day 9 - Santa Cruz, S.F

I want to have endless summer right now. I want to cruise the roads, hit the beaches, do a lot of climbing, hiking, diving, swimming, and learn scuba and surfing. I dreamed that I own a dry suit and say "screw winter" in Boston and learned kite surfing and just take off on any high wind day and go kite surfing.

But all good things have to come to an end. There is a hypnotic effect of driving on highway 1 without worries nor schedule. When I got to Santa Cruz the boardwalk was still closed except the arcades. Wow, the arcade, I miss arcades. Nostalgia ran thick as I touched the Mr. Do machine. I was beyond myself as I saw the "Star Trek, the Simulator" machine in its original seat cabinet. I was 10 again. The boardwalk building itself is like a false memory of something from my past:


I had some great mexican food - probably the best fish taco I ever had over there. Afterwards I meandered up highway 1 to Half Moon Bay, found it boring, and made a beeline straight to S.F. via winding, steep highway 17. I can imagine many accidents happened on that road.

When I got to San Francisco, the weather was gray and cool. I have scoped out a climbing gym beforehand (http://www.touchstoneclimbing.com/mc.html) and thought it would be fun to climb for a few hours, meet some ppl and try and make it on a night on the town afterwards. Well, without a map (silly me) I meandered through SF for almost 1 1/2 hours before I found the gym. I was hopelessly lost so in desperation I started wardriving...found an open wireless access point and googled my location to see where I was and where the gym was. Yay for technology!

Day 8 - Monterey

I went out to Monterey aquarium as soon as it opened, and as soon as I got in I promptly became a little kid again. I was bouncing around with such excitement. The new wing of the aquarium is just awsome - the outer bay exhibition has this HUGE acrylic glass and a whole school of tuna that are just mesmerizing.

I watched them feed the tuna...and felt hungry myself, and being chinese, I was itching for some sushi :)

So yeah, I ate some sushi that night....including tuna, and it was good :)

Anyhow, I was in there for over 4 hours - longer than I was in the Getty. The giant Octopus (no flash photography, so no photos) was just AWSOME - and the one they got at Monterey is GI-NORMOUS. It has like a 6 feet reach and it was actually active and moving around - I swore it was studying me as much as I was studying it, and I actually saw it change color AND texture as it tries to blend into the background rocks. Just absolutely amazing.

Afterwards I decided to rent a bike and do the 17 miles drive. Going from Cannary Row to the drive it's actually more like 25 miles roundtrip....and little did I know a giant hill was involved. I don't think I have climbed anything larger than Summit in decades, and this hill was like 800 feet above sea level, and at the end I swore I saw a turtle pass me.

But the view along the ocean is so worth it. It really is one of the most scenic roads in america. Along the way I saw the famous lone cypress tree.
The shoreline was so beautiful that I took my time...until I realize the rental shop was going to close by 5 pm and it was pm and I only went about 6 or 7 miles - so I basically booked it as soon as it went inland and up that crappy hill. I haven't felt so out of breath in eons as I climbed the hill...so...as you can imagine, my ass was sore the next day.

Day 7 Central Coast Highway

The drive up the coast was just awsome. I took my time and just enjoyed the drive. I even manage to a sudoku over lunch (at Carl’s Jr, no less) for the first time, because I felt like it and found myself to really suck at it – it was rated 3 star difficulty and I had to take about an hour and look at the answer twice to solve the whole puzzle! I have accomplished two things I have never done before - I finished a sudoku and I loitered at a fast food restaurant for over an hour :)

Anyways, the scenery just took my breath away - there has been high surf advisory and the waves that were crashing on the shore were 15-20 feet high.

At one point I stopped by an outcropping next to the ocean and decided to freeclimb the thing. I would rated it a solid 5.6 – 5.7 climb and I was being extra careful. I wish someone could’ve taken some pics from below! It's the most awsome, scary, adventurous thing I have done, other than dating (the ultimate extreme sport).

The outcropping from afar

My hand on the top of the thing

I made it down safely. The sunset over the pacific was just awsome.
I guess between freeclimbing, the sun and the ocean I felt my own mortality, and wished people who I know that has passed on could've shared the moment with me, especially Sonia. I think she would've loved the view. Peace.

Day 4 - 6 SoCal

Hanging out in SoCal made me realize how I am SO different from the people who are from here. It reaffirmed my bias against the whole region. It really is nice weather and not much else kinda place. Pretty but not deep. I don't know why I crave this abstract notion of "deep", but upon reflection in SoCal I seem to be obsessed with it.

Anyhow, after leaving San Luis Obispo on Sunday – and it took me a while to leave because I was talking with Jay’s dad till about 12 trying to pick his brains (a very smart and self-made man) - so I didn’t really leave till close to 1 pm. I basically went straight down to LA and got to Ashik’s home in Diamond Bar no problem. We met up w/a friend of his and had ok Mexican food for dinner. Afterwards we all watched Hitched and talked about girls. Got me thinking about Erica again. Pisses me off. I think if that girl ever wants to get on my good graces we would need to talk. And I thought I was immature…

The day after the rain was just coming down mercilessly. The trees and bushes were being bend sideways and the house was whistling. We didn’t get out of the Ashik’s house until about 12:30. We went out the Hollywood – and it was just as run-down and dilapidated as I remember it. We ate Japanese food including Shabu-shabu and just putz around for a around the Kodak theater. Then we went to see Munich at the Arclight Theater - $14 to see a movie in an afternoon! Talk about highway robbery!

Had to do the obligatory tourist shot in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater as we walk by it:

We then met up with Rana at Toi – a Soho-CBGB style Thai restaurant. Saw someone who looks like a porn star. Had some good Thai food. Talked for a bit. Rana cracked me up. She also got me thinking about, in addition to Erica, also about Laura and how screwed up that whole situation is. Forgive not forget? Certainly doesn’t feel that way.

The next day I went to the Getty Museum. It took me about 2 ½ hours to meander out to it because I decided to get on some local streets and next thing I knew I was a few towns out. Ate at a great Japanese fast food (including sushi) chain. Took their brochure. The east coast has much to learn from the new fast food trends of CA. The emphasis on fresh ingredients and fusion of different flavors is a trend that will permeate through USA. After getting to Getty I have to leave the car at the parking lot that’s about a mile away from the entrance to the roadway up the hill and the line waiting for the shuttle took forever. By the time I FINALLY got up to the museum it was close to 2 pm. It was worth it! I was awed by the architecture and disappointed by the collection at the same time. I am SO spoiled by DC, Boston and New York. I was pretty much done by 5 pm – only 3 hours to pretty much see EVERYTHING. Not knowing what to do with myself I meandered out on some local streets as I went out to Jay’s at Valencia through some local boulevards. Drove past his place and went to a mall. Ate at food court (Korean) and then walked around. The Korean fast food was pretty damn good. Another score for fast food in CA. As I was walking around I notice that the mall, built in the 80s when the emphasize in development has been about indoor "inward looking designs", has been replaced by more of an outdoor, new-urbanist concept or high density, mix use, and de-emphasizing parking or hide parking away. It seem to has spread everywhere in CA – a VERY pleasant and positive development.

When I got to Jay’s I gave him a good long pep talk about life for a while and then we all went to sleep. Felt like that moment at the end of "Stand By Me" when the narrator tells the viewer what happened to the kids. Our lives are now SO different and my reality is so removed from his...in a good way. For me he really signifies what america's psyche right now - insecure about jobs and prospects, financially shaky and a bit lost.

Trip Report Day 3 - Morro Bay

I drove out to Morrow Bay and went out to Morrow Rock. Wow. I encountered wildlife everywhere. Within an afternoon I saw sea otters, wild turkeys, deer, small but condor-like birds, tons of other birds, seals and a whole bunch of just stuff in the tidal pools. I was blessed with the weather clearing as I got out there (someone up there must like me). There was a high surf warning for the coast so I went out to Morro rock and watched the violent waves crashing on the barrier and was mesmerized.

Some of the waves had to be 15-20 feet high. Then as I was walking around Ilso spotted some sea otters - they were just so cute. They were just lying on their backs going about their business lazily and kinda floated/swam slowly by on their backs.

Afterwards I went out the dunes over by Los Osos and just hiked like 4 miles each way down the beach from there. After about a mile from the entrance onto the beach I realized that there is NO ONE on the beach other than I, with my own footprints as my only companion. It feels like I found some kind of a secret, magical places or something. So awesome!

Then I played some Monopoly in the evening with Jay, Yin, Tom, Jerry (Jay’s step-grandfather) and promptly got my ass whopped. Jay manage to stay in for a bit longer because he kept going to jail – I have never seen someone go to jail 10 times in one game!

Trip Report Day 2 - The Wedding

Hmm...the wedding. What can I say about attending the wedding of someone that I have known since fourth grade? I'm sure he will say the same for me too - like we were never suppose to grow up. I guess grow up we have. As for the wedding, well, Jay’s now married. She’s a good girl - straight from Vietnam though, so there's a huge cultural gap there.. Dunno what else to say about that other than good luck.

Pic of the couple:

It certainly was the most down-to-earth wedding I ever been to. No pomp’n circumstances – just a small and very quaint wedding. I helped to clean up the community room in which the wedding took place afterwards. I guess he really couldn’t afford anything else. I keep thinking that it's a rocky start, but then again, what do I know? I did went to the wedding single.

Clean up in the wedding hall/community center afterwards:

Trip Report Day 1 - From LAX to San Luis Obispo

So they say you can never go home again, and boy, even when I do, the “home” of what I remember is just a jumbled juxtaposition of scrambled memories. A deep sand-dune valley that leads to a hidden cove with a worn outcropping? Never existed. False memories indeed. Everything is close, but not quite the way I remembered it. The mountains are more majestic. The dunes less so. The girls in the farmer’s market were definitely cuter than I remembered them J

Ahhhh.....something to be said about warmer weather leading to less clothing...

Getting the luggage and the car from LAX was a trip in and of itself! The AIRPORT lost our luggage and it took them about an hour before they found the whole CARGOHOLD worth! The whole time the announcement lady was so apologetic and kinda clues. She was like “Sorry about the delay, we will announce the baggage information for flight 163 as soon as it became available.” Ha!

Because of the new “we’re super cheap because we’re about to go bankrupt” policy of the United, I didn’t eat anything while I was on the flight. I drank some water to get me by but by the time I got the rental car it was SO late that I was past hungry and I think I was also a little delirious….until I hit Ventura when I couldn’t hold the car straight. Went to this burger joint (name I can’t remember) and it was a great burger J. I then stopped at another join in Santa Barabara and had some Americanized Mexican food from a chain called Wolly’s or something like that. Then I went to Solvang (so vain) – supposed reproduction of a Swedish town or something like that. Tourist trap. The "holiday" decoratios seems to have been up for so long that they have faded. As I walked around there are all these "happy elves" things that are hung from all the buildings. This one is especially interesting though:

Apparently this is the reason why nordic elves are SO happy ;)