http://truemors.nowpublic.com/?p=36287
Ron sent this to me.
I love Crocs! They’re really comfortable for the beach and backyard.
I wonder if the kitties would like these for their beds…
Stay tuned for pictures of their new sleeping arrangements…
http://www.lecolonialsf.com/home_frame.html
I went with some colleagues to a pharmaceutical company sponsored dinner at Le Colonial. The restaurant is situated on a small side street so you would never know the restaurant was there unless you walked down that alley. It seems like a lovely restaurant for a summer meal as it does have an outdoor seating area but also has quite a large indoor space.
As we were listening to the talk, we enjoyed soup, four appetizers, three entrees, two side dishes, and three dessert platters (with four types of dessert!). These pictures are courtesy of PW since my camera doesn’t work well in low lighting (at least I haven’t figured out how to make it work well yet).
The soup of a fragrant chicken broth with cabbage dumplings filled with pork, shrimp, woodear mushrooms and scallions. I was really hungry so this warmed my tummy up quite nicely. I liked the bean sprouts in the soup, gave it a bit of a crunch.
Here’s a sampling of their appetizers, starting at 12 o’clock and going clockwise:
1. Fresh spring rolls with poached prawns, bean sprouts, mint, rice vermicelli noodles served with peanut sauce (delicious peanut sauce!)
2. Shredded green papaya with poached prawns, carrots, mint, toasted peanuts and crispy shallots tossed in chili garlic and lime vinaigrette (I love papaya salad so I finished off the plate because no one else wanted to eat it :P)
3. Crispy duck rolls with taro, jicama, served with lettuce wraps and ginger dipping sauce (Couldn’t really taste the distinct flavors and were a bit soft)
4. Coconut crusted Dungeness crab cakes with cilantro-chili sauce (a small bite of yumminess!)
Again, the papaya salad was my favorite, such a big serving too, I wonder if this is how much it is when you order it…
For entrees, starting at 12 o’clock and going clockwise:
1. Grilled wild Loch Duart salmon with cabbage salad, spicy tamarind reduction, peanuts and crispy shallots (the winning entree of the night, lightly grilled so salmon still very moist inside and delicious sauce)
2. Wok seared filet mignon cubes wok tossed in a garlic soy sauce over Watercress and crispy baby Yukon potatoes (salmon was way better although I liked the veggies)
3. Lemongrass Petaluma free range chicken served two ways with wilted kale and carmelized shallots served with chicken au jus (in my opinion, a bit dry and I was too in love with the salmon)
3. Side dish of wok tossed blue lake green beans with garlic soy sauce (I love braised green beans especially in a sweet and salty sauce)
These are the thick cut rice noodles stir fried with Dungeness crab, shrimp, egg, bean sprouts, green onions, and carrots… the noodles were good, kind of chewy.
Most of the people at our table already left so there were only 4 or 5 of us sharing the dessert. We had three plates of these!
From 12 o’clock going clockwise, a fried banana, a creamy custard topped with mango, an an apple fritter, and a molten chocolate cake. The only dessert I wasn’t in love with was the apple fritter, everything else was delicious, I especially loved the fresh mango on the custard.
I used to not like going to pharmaceutical company sponsored dinners but I think as long as you take the time to learn about the drugs rather than taking everything at face value, then the information they present won’t influence you. Rather you’ll make your own informed decisions after you’ve had the time to evaluate all the information. It’s been a good way to try new restaurants and get in touch with former classmates and colleagues.
Le Colonial
20 Cosmo Place
http://www.gentlegiantsrescue.com
Save a dog’s life today by providing them a safe and loving home. Since the dog show this weekend, I can’t stop thinking about adopting a dog. The time isn’t right at this moment since we live in an apartment so I’m being patient. I came across the Gentle Giants Rescue website in looking for an Irish Wolfhound Rescue in California. I don’t understand how people can abandon or abuse their dogs. This rescue group is doing a lovely thing in focusing on large dogs which I would think would be harder to adopt. Since I’m not interesting in showing dogs and would like a family pet, I think rescue is the best option when the time comes… but check out this site if you’re reading to adopt a “gentle giant” (or they also have “little giants” like Italian Greyhounds – which I also love).
We met up with a friend at R&G Lounge for lunch. She recently came from Singapore to work and wanted to get together to thank us for helping her get settled in (although we really didn’t do much).
This is a salmon avocado egg roll. It was tinier than I anticipated, each half was only about one bite. It wasn’t my favorite dish, I think as a fresh spring roll would have tasted better.
This is their secret recipe beef. A bit sweet, kind of carmelized and sort of tasting like moist beef jerky but good.
They called this spicy X.O. chicken. It wasn’t spicy but had a good X.O. sauce flavor. I was pleasantly surprised that it was served with snap peas.
This is called Three Treasures with Black Bean Sauce. They are stuffed fried tofu, eggplant, and peppers. They are stuffed with shrimp paste. The red and green peppers were good, they were the spicy peppers, not bell peppers.
The restaurant gave us a coupon for $25 off our next meal (of $50 or more). Thanks to Helen for treating us to lunch! Next time it’ll be on us.
R&G Lounge
631 Kearney Street
I went with Patsy and her husband to the Golden Gate Kennel Club 103rd Annual Dog Show. They kindly came to pick me up since Ron had a team meeting all day today and took the car. Since everyone knows me as a Hello Kitty lover and that we have three cats, it’s always assumed that I only like cats… but I love all animals and I’d really like to get a dog, when the time is right. I’ve had a dog in the past, he was an Australian Shepard mix named Minky, and I think I wasn’t ready for the responsibility of taking care of a dog. We adopted him from a pet store because his family was moving out of the area and couldn’t take him with them. He was still really young so very hyperactive. He loved to chase the possums and raccoons in our backyard and would howl at night when left alone. I used to sleep with him, actually he used to sleep on top of me in my sleeping bag, so that he would be quiet at night. He was really too strong for any of us to handle as well so he ended up being adopted by my uncle and went to live in Stockton at his automotive shop with some new buddies (they had rottweilers and chows). He passed away at around age 12.
So I took this opportunity to go check out the dogs. Ultimately the dog I would want in our family would be a shelter or rescue dog but I love animals and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have some cute dogs slobber all over my hands.
The show was $12 and we had a $2 off coupon from Pet Food Express. I definitely think is was worth the $10 to see all those dogs…
We went from smallest to largest. Here is one of the long haired chihuahuas sleeping in a chair, he/she was tiny, maybe 4 or 5 pounds.
A dalmation.
Australian Shepherds.
A shar pei. So wrinkly! This is when wrinkles are cute.
A Tibetan Terrier, sort of like the bearded terrier I saw last weekend.
This was either a Beagle or the Harrier (had the same coloring of a beagle but tall and lean).
I can’t remember what type of dog this is but is very beautiful. I really love snowy white animals.
A very spoiled pooch getting a drink of water.
A poodle being prepped for the show. So poofy!
This long haired daschund was sleeping and every few seconds, the legs would twitch as she was dreaming.
A beautiful husky with one blue eye and one hazel eye.
A boxer who really loves his Pooh!
Another snow white beauty.
A curly haired dog.
My new favorite dog, an Irish Wolfhound. They may look scary when you first look at them but I think they grow on you. The only thing that made me sad was that their life span is about 10 years. The dog I was allowed to pet was so affectionate, as soon as I sat down, she leaned over and showed me her belly to scratch and extended her front leg towards me. Maybe they remind me of a horse and I’ve always wanted to have a horse.
(The pug next to the dog is a plastic bag so doesn’t represent the actual size of the Irish Wolfhound).
Sleepy Irish Wolfhounds.
I could’ve taken her home right then and there.
A Mastiff. Sadly they only live about 10 years. The boys are significantly bigger than the girls.
A Bernese Mountain dog making friends with Patsy.
The only chow-like dog we saw, he was with the Bernese Mountain dogs though.
Dressed up with nowhere to go.
*My* chair… and armrest.
Beautiful red golden retriever.
Marley! Well, at least possibly distant siblings.
Mini Irish Wolfhound? Irish Terrier, cute haircut.
Another snowy white dog. It’s hard to resist that cute face.
An Akita, the dog with the curled tail.
A Newfoundland.
A Great Pyrenees. If I lived in snow country, I’d love to get one of these.
St. Bernards.
Rottweilers.
A Shibu Inu, this dog won a place in my heart too… just like a little fox.
It was a good day. If you want to see more pictures, check out Patsy’s blog, her pictures are more clear.