for the have and the have nots: holiday edition

I’m gearing up for a holiday gift exchange among friends that’s become an annual tradition since its inception circa 9th grade. Usually, it’s easy for me to list off all the things I want, well tangible things at least; yet this year, I’m racking my brain for ideas. Given our waning economic stability, I suddenly don’t want as much as I did before. The occasional Henrik Vibskov dress and Geren Ford shirt aside, I’ve simplified my life by “notwanting”. And if the feeling-of-want starts to bubble inside, I indulge myself with some online window-shopping aka “retail bulimia”. Add what you want to your shopping cart but instead of checking out, close the page. Sick, right?

Anyway, I’m stuck trying to come up with a few things to add to my Elfster list because I have to (see line 32A in our gift exchange rule book). And as much as I’d like my gift in a cash value, I can’t– that just takes the fun out of opening presents, no? Why am I such a stickler for tradition?



Papier Labo


Rosemieke de Hair


porcelain goblets


Facing China at Vreeman Publishers


Porter “Hello My Name Is” bag


Whimsey & Spice


One Year of White Pages

world's smallest

My best friend Diana just sent me the world's smallest birthday card. And in honor of all things small and precious- the world's smallest fast food meal.


via Daily Cognition

my po-po always smells like szechuan peppercorns

For the last few months, I’ve been working on a manuscript for a book I hope will be finished by the end of this year. While I can’t get into specifics, what I can say is, the book will be a little collaboration between my grandmother and me. With the first phase almost complete comes the second phase which is much more difficult and requires plenty of time in the kitchen. Care to guess what kind of book it is we’re working on?

While doing research online, I came across two relevant sites that I HAVE to share with you- especially with those of you who have cute (and sometimes NOT-SO-CUTE) Asian grandmothers.

Lau Lau’s Recipes
Excerpt from the About page:
“Our grandmother passed away on June 11, 2006. She was an amazing cook. These are her recipes as we have done our best to reconstruct them.”

The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook
Excerpt from the About page:
“The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook will be a compilation of family and homecooking recipes from across the Asian smorgasbord, the idea being that grandmothers are the closest link we have to our cultures and traditions. It’ll also contain anecdotes and stories about family, food traditions, grandmothers, mothers and aunts. I envision it as a way to preserve traditional recipes for future generations.”

making the mos of it (not a typo, sorry)

I've been meticulously planning my vacation to Taiwan, nailing down every restaurant I plan to try but of course there are so many others I can't plan for (street. food. baby). I leave tomorrow evening (YAY!) and can only think about the delightful treats to be had. One thing for sure, I will head on over to MOS BURGER, which I have been reading about on all the Taiwanese-food-centric blogs. A few snippets from the website.







This is what you get when you click on an item off the photo-menu. With an enlarged version of your favorite snack food, you also get a detailed chart of nutritional info. And check this out: The Mos burger bun is made of rice mixed with barley and millet. If our own fast food restaurants had clever websites like this one, I think I'd actually be enjoy the food more.


MOS BURGER