Chef Zhao Kitchen, Palo Alto

On our first trip to Mountain View, we had a mini reunion with college friends whom we haven't seen for over a decade. We kept in touch via email and social media, sure, but this was the first time we all sat down together in person, had a meal, and caught up with each other's life. Knowing Chef Zhao's Kitchen would be busy, I called weeks ahead for a reservation and, boy, was I glad I did. It was a week night and there was a long line out the door at 6pm.

 

Chef Zhao Bistro, Mountain View

Prior to our trips to Mountain View, I solicited restaurant recommendations from friends who live and work there. When asked what kinds of food hubby and I like that we don't get much of where we live, both of our answers were: good Chinese food, preferably the spicy and tongue-numbing variety. We got three recommendations in return: Chef Zhao Bistro, Chef Zhao Kitchen, and Hunan Impression.

I checked them all out online of course. We were planning a mini reunion just like those we had in Taipei with our college friends. With everyone's work schedule, Hunan Impression was too far out of the way and so we were left with two Chef Zhao restaurants. Since I was just down the street from Chef Zhao Bistro wandering around downtown Mountain View, hubby zipped back from his office to meet me there for a quick lunch as soon as the place opened at 11:30am.

Mountain View, California

Last year, hubby had to make a few short work trips out to California, once to SF in late July and twice to Mountain View in the fall (beginning of September and end of November). I tagged along each time and took some photos while wandering about (and yes, I'm still perpetually behind on posts...).

Both of the trips were super short. Each time, I had just a couple of hours in the afternoon to explore and get myself some snacks while hubby got some work stuff done, then we met up with old friends for dinner and went home the next day. So I ended up just wandering up and down Moffett Boulevard/Castro Street (downtown Mountain View) and took pictures of the shops that caught my eyes (mostly food :P).

M.Y. China (Chinese cuisines), San Francisco

There were two nights while hubby and I were in SF where I had to hang around the Westfield Mall for a few hours starting in the early evening. It wasn't just for the convenience of having a chair and table to sit and write but also for the sake of staying near hubby. His work conference was just a couple of blocks nearby.

So I asked my pal J. to dinner with me one night and she recommended M.Y. China on the 4th floor of the mall. She works down the street from the mall and would come here with a gf and colleague a couple of times a month whenever they work late.

R & G Lounge (Chinese Cuisine), San Francisco, Part II

On one of the nights in SF, hubby and I decided to go back to R&G Lounge for that delicious baked black cod I'd been craving since we left the city.

InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco

While visiting SF for a few days, hubby and I stayed at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, simply because hubby's company put him there. 

Crown & Crumpet Tea Room, San Francisco, Part III

While hubby was busy with work conference, I roamed around Japantown and visited familiar stores and shops until I got tired. Plus, having a few days away from our little one (he stayed with my parents) meant precious writing time for me.

That said, writing meant I needed a place to camp and staying all cooped up in the hotel room was not an option. This was in SF, after all! Thank goodness for Crown & Crumpet Tea Room on Post Street.

Japantown, San Francisco, Part IV

At the end of July, hubby attended a work conference in San Francisco. We'd just moved into our house at the beginning of the month and everything was still a mess, but he had to give a talk and couldn't get out of the trip. And of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tag along, at least for old times' sake.

We had a blast living there and will always have fond memories of The City. Can you guess where we went first? Yup, Japantown ^.^

I love za Daiso! Part II

When hubby and I moved away from SF, I was very sad. Because that meant I wouldn't be able to just spend my afternoon browsing through the shelves at the Japantown Daiso anymore. Being in Japan makes me very happy, because I'm back in the land of the za Daiso ^.^

No no, I don't go crazy hoarding dollar-store crap. Anyone who knows anything will tell you that there are gems to be found at the dollar store (or the consignment store, etc.), but I digress. I mean, we only hoard good stuff, right? :P

Like these adorable printed masking tapes and fabric tapes from the SF Japantown Daiso, which I use to label gifts, decorating envelops, etc.

Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, Part II

My sister and I happened to be out there on a sunny day with clear sky. The temperature was just right, in the high 70's where we didn't need a jacket but didn't sweat either.

Click for large photos.

Sutro Baths, San Francisco

After Marins Headland, my sister, hubby, and I headed over to the Sutro Baths at Lands End. Hubby and I have actually been here several times whenever someone visits, SIL and her hubby in fall 2013, A-san, and then my sister in June 2014.

The thing is, there's a good and bad time to visit Sutro Baths, the good time being earlier in the morning on a sunny day, the bad time being any other time past 4PM because it'll be foggy, windy, and freakin' freezing. The photos below were taken on a sunny day but later in the afternoon when the fog already arrived. So as you can see, even a sunny day can be a bad time to visit if it's too late.

Click for larger photos.

Marin Headlands, San Francisco

Recently it's been cool and raining a lot where I am, pretty much the whole of May and June, right into the 2nd of July now. In fact, it's been so wet the whole damn state is blanketed in a thick fog-like mist. This is super unusual, because it's normally blasting sunshine and bone dry around this time of the year. The joke-du-jour is that we're getting Seattle weather, because they've been dry as hell and having lots of sun, and we're getting the rainy mist.

Anyway, this cooler weather makes me nostalgic for San Francisco again, because the summers there are actually cool, if not down right cold. Temperature hovers around the 70's and the evenings are windy and chilly with Karl the Fog rolling in. So I went looking through my pictures and realized there are a bunch of photos I haven't posted. So here they are, these ones of Marin Headlands and the derelict military sites. Click for larger photos.
I had to zoom the below info boards into 4 different photos.


Left panel.

Right panel.