ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
It was surprising to me that there is so much exposed salt at Death Valley. Ancient lakes didn't have an escape route to the oceans, so they simply dried up and left behind enormous salt deposits. At the Devil's Golf Course, salt got sculpted into complex, intricate formations from weathering, a phenomenon that prompted the National Park... Continue Reading →
My breath is taken away every time I see Mount Shasta from Interstate 5, just south of the Oregon-California border. Even when skies aren't always clear, its majesty dominates the horizon. Today, spectacular lenticular clouds were hovering over the mountain.
Don't let the modest place fool you. Xi'an Noodles has some of the best noodles in Seattle. It's one of the rare restaurants that specialize in one thing and do it extremely well. In this case, the specialty is the kind of noodles made in the Chinese province of Shaanxi (which touches Sichuan at its southwest corner), hand-made and pulled... Continue Reading →
Getting good poké in Seattle was like getting good ramen used to be, a challenge. Now, very good ramenya are popping up with increasing regularity. Anyone who's had ahi poké in Hawaii might agree with me that in Seattle, it's been a disappointment. The primary reason is the fish quality. There's something about tuna freshly caught off Hawaiian shores that makes it... Continue Reading →
Orcas Island has been one of our favorite local spots to vacation. Our family used to camp regularly in the summers at Moran State Park, memories that our daughters still hold today. Lately, with the kids now grown and having their own families, my wife and I have been going to Orcas during off-seasons to avoid crowds.... Continue Reading →
Yet another Taiwanese restaurant opened recently in Bellevue to join others in the greater Seattle metro area to cater to the significant number of Taiwanese-American residents. With Facing East, MonGa, Dough Zone and Din Tai Fung already attracting the faithful on the Eastside, it's become a bit more difficult for newbies to break in. HardWok Cafe does an... Continue Reading →
On my photography outings, I've never used a variable wide angle as my only lens. The holiday season was a good excuse to visit Pike Place Market yesterday, which my wife and I would've done last week if it weren't for the freezing temperatures. The closed-in, tight spaces of the market are ideal for wide-angle shots. The summer bounty of... Continue Reading →
It takes only one sip to judge soup broth. Any more, then it hasn't made a good enough impression. It took me a single one to become wowed. My friend who sat across from me and who ordered the same hủ tiếu hoặc mì dặc biệt at Green Leaf Bellevue Vietnamese Restaurant had the same sentiment. The broth was that good. Green Leaf... Continue Reading →
After the superb paella at Tarsan i Jane recently, I was bowled over by another world-class rice dish, this one originating from Hyderabad in India. The city is known for its special kind of biryani. Dum biryani involves a painstaking process of layering basmati rice and meat (usually goat or chicken) that has been marinated in a complex blend of... Continue Reading →
When I lived in Los Angeles more years ago than I care to count, I had paella for the first time at a Spanish restaurant in West Hollywood called La Masia (now long gone). I had it there maybe three times. My great fondness for it could very well have been embellished by the passage of time. It was... Continue Reading →
zoomeboshi 