We woke up really early this morning. We miscalculated, because we though
we were going to take the Logan Express into the airport. As we drive close to Braintree, I was thinking , "We are on vacation. We might as well just drive to Logan, and park there.", so we did.
We got in to the airport at 5 AM.
Way too early for a 7:50AM flight, but nevertheless, we got our boarding pass, and walked around the airport a bit.
We usually get a coffee at Dunkin Donuts. When
Paula saw the Au Bon Pain store, we s
aid, "hey, why don't we have our coffee he
re?" and so we did. I had a coffee, Paula ordered a cafe latte, and we shared a Triple-Berries muffin.
There were plenty of seats in the restaurant
. We took one near the corner, and leisurely drank our coffee. Paula loved her latte. She liked it for a treat once in a while. My coffee is nice and strong, just the way I like it.
The triple-berries: blue berries, cranberries, and (an unknown) berries reminded us of Gabrielle. When Babcie served her a cranberry muffin, she said "This is the world's worst muffin!" and we still laugh about that.
After breakfast, we didn't have to wait too long before boarding the plane (JetBlue 635) for San Francisco. I took and aisle seat, and Paula had the middle seat, while a Chinese girl had the window seat.
JetBlue has leather seats and an LCD TV on every seat back. We always enjoyed flying JetBlue because we can watch TV through the trip. As luck would ha
ve it, Paula's audio jack at the seat would not work. I tried, she tried, and we cannot get the head phone to connect to the
audio jack. Fortunately, I have a duplex coupler, so we can share my audio. I lost interest in the TV soon, and just listened to my MP3 player, and dozed off.
We landed at SFO around noon, and picked up our rental car. It is a Mercury Grand Marqui, a big boat on land, and drives like one too. We got it so if we are going anywhe
re, all five of us can comfortably sit in the same car.
Our first stop was Fat Wong's. This restaurant is highly recommended by a Chinese
friend who work in San Mateo, a nearby town. The first thing I
saw when I walked in is a big sign that says "Cash only". In the restaurant, there were a few more signs saying "no check, no credit cards". It is a good thing Paula came along. She said she has a few dollars in her purse. Phew.
The menu is quite extensive for a small restaurant, and there are many Chinese
items in the menu that you would normally not see in a Westernized Chinese restaurant: braised pig feet, for example. I ordered a (cold) chicken dish, a beef brisket noodle soup, and Paula ordered her favorite stir-fried beef noodles. All were good, and the check came to $20, so it was inexpensive as well.
After lunch, we walked around a mall nearby to pass the time until 2:30PM, when we picked up Ann and Louis, and headed for Salinas to see
Sue. Sue had called and said she will make dinner for us, so we did not stop in Gilroy
on the way down. Gilroy is quite a shopping haven nowadays. Many malls and shops cropped up in the past few years. Among all the shops is a restaurant called the Noodle House. Both Sue and I have been there and enjoyed it. I had wanted to stop with Ann and Louis, but decided not to spoil our appetite.
We arrived at Sue's house around 4:30. Sue came out to greet us and there were a lot of hugs and kisses. Here is a picture of the three sisters in the kitchen.
Sue's house is so beautiful! Every square inch has been meticulously landscaped.
In the front, the walkway has been
expanded. A double sized cement walkway leads from the garage parking to the front door. Along the left side is a sea of (xxx) tears, with a couple of hydrangers in the midst. The front is a flower box, which is com
pletely rebuilt and empty for now. The flowers that were in it have been moved to the right side of the yard.
The backyard is similarly meticulous.
Here is a picture of a lemon tree in a pot. It is now bearing fruits. Sue said the lemons are even sweet tasting.
There is a trelis to the right side of the yard, and there are some beautiful outdoor furnit
ures under the trelis. Sue arranged a very nice spread of treats for us: a big bowl of nuts, cheese and crackers, sweet dates, a very nice artichoke and jalapeno dip. For drinks, we sampled a couple of Chimay beers. This is a beer brewed by the Trappistes Abbey in the Netherlands, but is really a Belgium beer. They come in big bottles, so we were able to share them.
While we munched on the cheese and nuts, we were entertained by Sue's cat Manny (named after Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox p
layer, no doubt). The surrounding houses all have dogs, and Manny likes to tease the dogs by walking on
top of the backyard fence, and dangle his tail down to attract the dogs and make them bark.
When we first arrived, the sun was out, and the backyard was nice and warm, so we were able to enjoy sitting outdoors. After a while, the clouds rolled in and it became a bit cold, so we decided to move indoors.
Sue had already set up the dinner table, and finished grilling the meats, so we just
sat down at the table and started en
joying the scrumptious dinner. The first course is artichoke hear
ts. Sue had steamed some beautiful a
nd big artichoke hearts, and she showed us how to eat it.
You pluck out the leaves, and nibble on the bottom tip of the leaves, to bite out the tender meat. There is oil and vinegar mix if you like to dip the tips, but P
aula and I just prefer the nat
ural flavor of the artichoke.
Following that, Sue brought out a dish of beautifully marinated chicken thighs. The meat was marinated in ('You must give me the recipe, Sue.') olive oil, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, and grilled. It was the most flavorful chicken I have EVER had. To say they are good is just an understatement.
The next course is grilled salmon. Two very large fillets of salmon, marinated in olive oil, dill, red pepper flakes (but not spicy hot), garlic, and more dill. They were grilled wrapped in foils. Delicious! Here is Paula's plate with some salmon, chicken, and pasta salad.
The pasta of falfil with (a lot of different herbs and spices, Sue will supply the recipe) is simply the best complement to the fish and chicken. It is good as a warm pasta salad, or simply eaten cold. I love this pasta dish.
After dinner, Sue brought out a bottle of Black Sambuka. Like the regular Sambuka, this is a sweet drink, but it is not harsh at all. It was the smoothest drink ever. We sat around the table, and drank, and talked until late into the night. It was a feast to remember.
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