Reposted from our wedding website:

A bag of Taco Bell, Flying Saucers, and a cute boy - my friend certainly knew how to cheer me up. I inadvertently met Alvin that fateful summer day, when my friend swung by my parents' house with Alvin in the passenger seat.

Two weeks later he came on in full-force Alvin style. Classic lines included:

“So when are you going to let me take you out to dinner?”
“Well, I like what I see so far…”
“It’s just a date. It’s not a big deal.”
“Want to come over for lunch? I just made some tuna casserole.”

Unaccustomed to this cockiness, I ran the other way and never spoke to him again. Alvin crumbled under the agony of his first rejection and went on to think that I was a self-centered princess.

Several months later, I randomly had a dream about him. I usually tell people about my crazy dreams if they took part in them. In an effort to be more open-minded about boys and life in general, I made contact. Alvin, still cocky, took it as “Yeah, she wants me.”

We hung out a few times. None were ever dates, since Alvin wasn't going to ask again. Besides, he still thought I was self-centered and, according to me, he still had one foot in the “sketchy boy” bucket.

This all changed one night when we went out with some of Alvin’s friends. You can definitely tell a lot about a person by the company he keeps. His first friend I met proceeded to get drunk very quickly and call a girl fat within the first half hour. Minus 15 points.

Luckily for Alvin, reinforcements came in the form of two close friends at dinner. Supercool, fun, and intelligent, they opened my eyes to a warmer, saner side of Alvin. And apparently they gave me the 4 thumbs up as well.

Maybe he’s not so weird after all…
Maybe she’s not so bad…

We quickly became a couple after that, just in time for New Year’s Eve 2002. His New Year resolution that year was to make me the happiest girl in the world. It looks like he’ll be keeping that resolution every year hereafter…happily ever after.

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After a week of Chinese food detox (and trying to get over jet-lag, catching up on Lost and Gossip Girl...), I can finally write about the things we ate in China.  Even though I grew up with Chinese food, I'm not always clear on what's Chinese, Taiwanese, or American-Chinese.  I expected to find pineapple cake and other goodies around every corner, but did not.  And who knew that Kung Pao Chicken was really an authentic Chinese dish?  And Muslim influences?  The food in China was, for the most part, a very delicious lesson in culture.

Peking Duck, Beijing

Crazy rickshaws following us to duck

When in Beijing, eat Peking Duck.  We sought out LiQun Roast Duck Restaurant, a family-run place recommended by Fodors and recently visited by Anthony Bourdain.  Getting there was perhaps the entire adventure.  LiQun is located down a hutong (alleyway) accessible only on foot/bike/rickshaw.  As our cab approached the hutong entrance we were swarmed by aggressive rickshaw drivers offering (forcing) to bring us to the restaurant.  One guy looked like he was running into our cab on purpose.  A little freaky, but we survived and opted to walk/run to LiQun.  No pics of the duck here because it's not worth posting. Really bad -- soggy skin and I think they forgot all seasoning. C- The next night we let Quanjude, a very popular chain, defend Beijing's Peking Duck legacy.  I can see why this place is so popular.  Juices ran the moment the knife pricked the crispy skin.  I was happy.  Ducks are also available in convenient takeaway bags so you can bring some home as souvenirs. A

Snacks, Everywhere

Which magical mango concoction to get?

The Sweets The choices in sweets were endless, as expected.  Some favorites: Egg tarts: With the super flaky crust.  I've never had this kind before. B+ Popsicles: It was hot every single day and nothing beats a popsicle for 3 yuan ($0.40).  We must have had like 85 of them.  The best were peach with chunks of real fruit and haw flavor. B+ Everything mango: There were a gazillion mango-flavored things.  I especially enjoyed the layered drink of tapioca, mango juice, coconut milk topped with fresh mangos at the ubiqitous Hui Lau Shan. A Tong Shui: "Sweet soup".  There was this one that was pure genius: Sago + douhua (tofu pudding).  Yum. A Fried thing we got on the street:  I don't know what it's called, but it's similar to sweet red bean cake battered and fried.  We got this in the Muslim quarter in Xian. A Fresh juices and drinks: I don't think I've imbibed this much sugar since...ever.  Watermelon and mango seems to be the local favorites.  Corn juice was offered in Guilin, but it didn't seem all that appealing. B

From the Street Roast Quail: Slip on a glove and enjoy.  Teeny, tasty, portable. B Haw in Crystal Sugar: This reminds me of the Candy Apple King at the NYC street fairs.  Think haw instead of strawberries on skewers covered in crystalized sugar.  I like haw in popsicle and flake form better, but it's worth trying. B- Shrimp on a Stick: Flash fried with shell-on with piles of garlic and hot peppers.  Good mid-afternoon, mid-shopping snack. B *By the time we got to any night markets they were closed.  Sadly, there were no run-ins with scorpions or silkworms on sticks.

Bird for a snack in Shanghai

Muslim influences, Xian
		Yangrou Pao Mo Memorable isn't always a good thing.  While in Xian, we opted to try the local specialty Yangrou Pao Mo (Lamb stew with flat bread).  Extremely dense flatbread and handiwipes are brought upon submitting your order.  Your job is to break up the Mo into itty bitty pieces before you get your stew.  Our waitress rejected our first attempted and demanded that we break it up even smaller.   Stew with vermicelli is then ladled in with the bread. It was...ok...I couldn't imagine being hungry and having to do all that work before I'm served.  D

Our driver, the next day, told us that us tourists don't know where to get the good stuff.  He recommended a Hunan place, Jian Hui, that served up the most delicious fish head, double cooked pork, and spicy everything.

Crystal Jade Dim Sum, Shanghai Thanks for the recommendations to check out Crystal Jade.  I had one of the best meals of my life there.  We ordered our favorites x 2; our waiter actually said we may have ordered too much.  Best fried egg rolls and turnip cake I've ever had.  Great shaved ice dessert with grass jelly and sweetened condensed milk.  The service was stealth and impeccable.  It was like the Secret Service of...service.  A++

Noodle House, Yangshuo We stumbled upon Noodle House our first morning in Yangshuo (2 hours from Guilin).  The menu featured Wang Zhou style dishes including excellent Zha Jiang Mien (noodles with bean sauce), braised beef noodle soup, and an amazing grilled fish.  We liked this place so much that we ate there 3 times that day, and had breakfast there the day after. If you're ever in the area I highly, highly recommend it.  Open early till around 3-4am.  Family run. I wish I could hire them to be my personal chefs.  A+

Other notable eats:

Bellagio Cafe, Shanghai, A: Taiwanese food in Shanghai.  Why not?  I miss it.  A very satisfying meal of fatty pork and fatty fish belly.  Delicious watermelon juice.  End the meal with a ridiculous tower of shaved ice.
Nanxiang Mantou Dien, Shanghai, B: Known for the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and the tong bao (big momma soup dumplings that come with straws).  Good, but I've had better.  Din Tai Fung still rules in my world! (Incidentally, there is a DTF in Shanghai...)  Nice place for a meal though, since it's located in what looks like a big pagoda in the middle of a small pond.
Yellow Door Kitchen, Hong Kong, A: Located on the 6th floor in a once-illegal kitchen make swanky.  Creative Sichuan cuisine served in set menus.  Family-style.  We were served 16 different dishes.
Yung Kee, Hong Kong, B-: This award-winning restaurant best known for its roast goose is highly overrated and overpriced.  The food was fine, but not phenomenal.  Service was bad and pretentious.  We got even better roasted meats the next day at some random place by our hotel.
McDonalds, B: Yes, McDonalds.  16 days of Chinese food made me a little nutty.  Trusty McD was a good change of pace, a beacon of familiarity, toilet paper, picture menus, and guaranteed air-conditioning.
Nasty-ass curry noodles somewhere in the Summer Palace, F-: I can distinguish between good and bad, but I am by no means a picky eater.  This was one of the few times in my life when I thought I was going to puke on my food...on my fluorescent ochre, reheated, strings of curry nastiness in a bag.

My sister supports an organization called Paddle for Life in its fight against cancer, and I'm helping her get the word out.

Paddle for Life is a community Dragon Boat Festival organized by San Francisco Bay Area teams to:

...Raise money for charity.
...Increase awareness of the Dragon Boat sport.
...And to show both spectators and paddlers a great time.

This year's race will be held at Jack London Square in Oakland, CA on June 7-8, 2008.

For more information, please check out the Paddle for Life giving website at:  http://www.firstgiving.com/paddleforlife 
(A great alternative for those who can not attend the event!)

Thank you for supporting a community event in support of the fight against cancer!