Zoe and Helen share a chicken bone at a barbecue at Sang’s place.
Archive Page 2
always more fun
Published 8 October 2009 District 10 , Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam 1 CommentTags: zoe
truc twenty-two
Published 8 October 2009 District 11 , Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam 1 CommentTags: family
We celebrated Truc’s twenty-second birthday with spaghetti and snails. Bao is a fussy eater – he wouldn’t touch the spaghetti.
miss fix-it
Published 14 August 2009 Hong Kong , Lamma Island , Pak Kok Old Village 1 CommentTags: zoe
Zoe knows that she can fix anything with a hammer and a roll of tape.
rooftop sunset
Published 19 June 2009 Hong Kong , Lamma Island , Pak Kok Old Village 1 CommentTags: family, scenery, zoe
Among the few positive aspects of summertime in Hong Kong are beautiful sunsets on clear evenings. Eric invited us up for dinner on the rooftop last night. Here’s a 360º panoramic view in hi-res Quicktime VR and low-res Flash formats.
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See if you can count the number of times Zoe appears in the picture.
power shovel
Published 15 June 2009 Hong Kong , Lamma Island , Pak Kok Old Village 1 CommentTags: zoe
Zoe demonstrates the power shovel technique of eating her yogurt. Music is Powerhouse by Raymond Scott.
east is east
Published 15 June 2009 Hong Kong , Lamma Island , Pak Kok Old Village 1 CommentTags: food
I’ve never been much of a fan of fusion cuisine, but every once in a while I get the urge to use Asian ingredients in a Western-style preparation or vice-versa. The idea today was to make pasta with pork bellies, my current favorite part of the pig – basically a big hunk of bacon before being smoked and/or cured. All around Asia, pork bellies are usually braised in a flavorful broth for several hours until much of the fat is extracted and the meat is tender. I used a mixture of red wine and chicken stock, flavored with garam masala and orange marmalade, let it simmer for a couple of hours, then skimmed off the fat. Meanwhile, I caramelized a finely-diced onion with some of the drippings, then added a can of tomatoes along with the pork bellies and the braising liquid. This sauce went on top of the penne after simmering for another hour or two, then topped with a mixture of yogurt and Sriracha sauce. Success!
dance like a monkey
Published 27 May 2009 Hong Kong , Lamma Island , Pak Kok Old Village 2 CommentsTags: zoe
Whenever Trinh feeds Zoe, she tells her “Nhai kỹ” (“Chew well”). I always hear “Nhảy khỉ” (“Dance like a monkey”). So whenever I feed Zoe, I make sure to tell her to dance like a monkey. She’s learning both well, and doesn’t seem too confused by the whole thing.
varmint season
Published 26 May 2009 Hong Kong , Lamma Island , Pak Kok Old Village 2 CommentsTags: wildlife
As the weather turns hot and damp, Lamma’s creatures are emerging from their lairs. This enormous centipede found a comfortable spot on Amanda’s veranda. Hopefully her cats Matilda and Norm will encourage it to find a new home. We’ve also got a 5-foot long rat snake slithering around the garden. Lamma has its share of venomous snakes (such as cobras and bamboo vipers), but luckily we haven’t encountered any of these. Amanda’s got some big hairy spiders living in her flat downstairs, but we remain arachnid-free. Good thing, since Trinh is seriously phobic. Fortunately, Zoe’s not bothered by any of these varmints – but I had to chase away a house gecko from the bathroom that was frightening her. The gecko moved to live in our spice rack.
where’s zoe?
Published 8 May 2009 Hong Kong , Lamma Island , Pak Kok Old Village 2 CommentsTags: zoe
Somebody told us that we won’t remember any specifics of Zoe’s development between the ages of one and two years. It might be true. She’s cuter than ever, but there are certainly fewer major milestones. Maybe that’s why I’ve been taking fewer pictures of her lately.
While walking around Foshan, we stumbled across a snake market. We and the stall proprietors entertained each other as the man transferred great armfuls of snakes between containers and the woman deftly filleted the snakes with a single stoke of the knife. Water snake gruel is a specialty of Foshan cuisine.
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Here is a video looking down into a barrel of writing snakes. While in Foshan, one should always keep an eye out for escapees.
