Happy holiday dinner

appetizers; butternut squash soup, blue point oyster
main; Jamie Oliver style baked trout
dessert; my mom's vanilla kipferil all the way from Japan. Hazel nuts cake from Andre's bakery

3 stucking small plates

3 plates are one set. From the Kiva cafe show Nov.-Dec.

The cloisters

Great Hudson river view. Nice and soft light in the building. I adore this lovely place.

Star blue bowl

People hate this star blue glaze at the studio but I love it with brown clay.
The color combination makes me feel like cooking some rich winter food like goulash.

potato salada with dried tomato

My favorite potato salad is steamed potato with lime dressing, parsley and dried tomato. Minced dried tomato adds a nice touch of flavor

San Francisco Point reyes

Getting to Marin by ferry to see Charlie and Jacquie - mountain bicycle legend couple. It is always impressive to see someone who is such a craftsman. Charlie told me he had heard about the Higashi Osaka area which has many small factories with small
old Japanese guys making super high technology items.
Jacquie drove us to Point Reyes. Hopefully we will ride bicycles around next time...

San Francisco-Food

We picked the restaurant la folie to try great Californian food.
2 amuses and 4 courses;

"Lobster on a Meyer Lemon Gelée and Hawaiian Kampachi topped with fennel Radish Salad over Pickled Cucumbers"

"Baked Day Boat Scallop and Shrimp Soufflé with Broccoli and Cauliflower, Lobster Bisque"
"Venison Chop with Roasted Fall Fruits and Root Vegetables, Sauce oivrade"

"“The Sunset” Warm Bittersweet Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Ice Cream and Brandied Dried Fruits"



Vegetables have strong flavor and are tasty. Compared to NY-style restaurants, more veggies. The venison dish was the best venison I ever had.
Sourdough has stronger flavor - nice local food.

Photos are from the Ferry Building which has organic and seafood restaurants and gift shops. You can browse while you are waiting your ferry.

San Francisco-downtown

It has been 10 years since I was in SF.
Compared to New York, cleaner air, less crowded and not much jay walking...
The SF airport is great! There is dims sum, desserts, Japanese food and a healthy food court. In contrast, can't they do anything about food in JFK??
"Chefs screwed their shift so even the manager is cooking but we can not make it here!" Waiter was complaining to us. Well, this is NY...

wired earings

stone beads
14k gold filled wire

tea cup

red clay with white glaze

blue mug

Tried the new midnight blue glaze.
Nice color with coffee.