sf int'l asian american film festival

the 26th san francisco international asian american film festival opened this week. it is the nation’s largest showcase for new asian american and asian films, including those from hong kong, taiwan, japan, korea, india, etc.

at the same time last year, i watched a very intriguing film at the festival called the great happiness space: tale of an osaka love thief. the camera follows "hosts" that ran a club in osaka. if you have no idea what goes on inside these "host clubs", you should definitely watch it. AND, there is a twist. you'll have to watch for yourself - i highly recommend this film. (although it may be difficult to find it on dvd or the internet) -- update: i believe it's available on netflix at the moment


going back to this year's event...

the film i watched was one that's way higher on the comedy scale - harold and kumar escape from guantanamo bay. it's made up of much racial, sexual, and drug reference jokes. if you've seen the first harold and kumar go to white castle and liked it, you'll like this one too.


john cho, who played harold in the movie, made a guest appearance at the screening. (apparently daniel wu 吳彥祖 was also in town to appear in his movie screening, but i didn't find out about it until after it's over!!!)


there's cho at the Q&A session after the movie


the film fest runs till next sunday (23 mar) in select sf, sj, and berkeley cinemas. if you're interested in any of the films, don't miss the chance!

jero

in 2008, a new singer debuted in japan.
his name is JERO.
he reminds me of the young will smith.
and the most fascinating thing about JERO is that he sings enka.

preview video made by his record label:


his debut single 海雪 "umiyuki":


what do you think of the fresh prince of bel air singing enka?

cooking time, again

more cooking this week.

this tofu recipe called fillet o'fu is straight from one of my favorite food network shows - good eats (by alton brown).



bread pudding is a delicious version of my favorite food family - bread!
but it also consists of an ingredient that i hate the most... raisins... yuck!
(see that corner without raisins? that's my corner... hehe)


condensed milk serves as a great topping!

cooking time

sis and i decided to give mom a break and make dinner for one night. she found a recipe for french onion soup, and i found a recipe for clams in white wine sauce. they're both very easy to make and super yummy too!

see that cute mini burger?
we cheated...
they're frozen tri-tip burgers from costco! hehe

french onion soup

clams in white wine sauce

two days later, we found another recipe for pumpkin puffs, so we gave it a try too. you must think they sound complicated to make. NO! frozen pre-made puff pastry sheets and pumpkins are the only ingredients. easy, huh? but instead of using pumpkin as filling, we substituted it with sweet potatoes. result = amazingly delicious puffs!!

"puffing" hot from the oven

browned perfectly

flaky on the outside, soft on the inside

we are on a "cooking spree" lately, so if you have any great recipes, feel free to forward them over!

busy bee

i went to our garden to take a few pictures of the peach tree because it's blossoming beautifully at the moment. (actually, it was mom's request.) i spotted a hardworking bee doing its job around the peach blossoms. speaking of "busy bee", i am definitely one this week. i'm busy wrapping up the car stuff (there's been a small hiccup during the transfer process but it's all been taken care of now), filing my taxes, gathering materials for my visa, and other miscellaneous errands. i'm looking forward to a calm and peaceful weekend!

hope everyone is enjoying the nice spring weather like me!

if you live in the u.s., don't forget to "spring forward" one hour this weekend - mar 9th - for daylight savings.
--correction--
for those who're overseas, california will be 15 hrs behind hk and 16 hrs behind japan. so make sure you count your hours before calling me!

gone baby gone

this weekend, i parted with my beloved jetta. after 5 years of quality time with her, i decided to put her up for sale. i tried my best to convince my family to keep her, but they just don't need an extra car. i was once worried that where she would go to next? please at least be someone i know so that i can check up on her once in a while. luckily, she landed into my friend's home. i hope my friend will cherish her as much as i did.

i still remember 5 years ago, when i decided to make my first car purchase, i knew exactly that i wanted to get a VW. at that time, i was a little torn between the jetta and the new beetle. the jetta was the perfect size for me, and i loved the design at the time (i don't really care for the current design so much). on the other hand, the new beetle was cute. all girls like cute stuff! so i went to the dealer to check them out and test drove them. my heart knew immediately that it would be the jetta. it's just more practical and comfortable, and i knew i would get tired of the new beetle if i just got it for the looks.

my jetta was just meant to be. she came with the color and all the features that i was looking for! although she's no luxury car, i felt proud driving her around and loved to take her to places. anyone who's rode in her knew that i kept her in a very good condition. to be honest, i didn't want to sell her if i didn't have to! i truly hope that she'll be loved and taken care of in her new home. farewell!

old and new owners share the historic moment