Baby Shower and Ramen

March 13, 2006

A Brass Monkey lady, Linda, crashed in the "guest bedroom" after our girls' night, so we woke up on Sunday morning and after I got my crap-show together, we headed out for brunch. We went down to Noe Valley to a favorite, Pomelo, where their brunches are yummy and the coffee hits the spot.

My co-worker, Susan, is 7 months prego and I helped to host a baby shower for her on Sunday afternoon. Susan just moved into a beautiful new home in Redwood City, very convenient for dropping Linda off. It was a pretty large gathering of ladies and little ones, with close to 30 adults and 10 kids. It was a really nice afternoon and I was pretty sleepy after it finished around 5 pm.

My co-worker, Chandra, helps set up the baby shower game






Susan, with her husband Brad to the left, opening up really cute baby shower gifts

After the baby shower, I hopped back on the freeway and headed south for San Jose, to catch up with adorable Olivia, Jack, and my super-prego sister. Angie is carrying twins, and despite only being 19 weeks along, she's filling out her 7 month maternity clothes quite well. I saw all their Disneyland/Sea World/Wild Animal Park photos (where they took Olivia last week, a last only-child hurrah), and Olivia was non-stop-talk about her adventures. She loved the tea-cup ride but was scared by the red-eyes of the abominable snowman. Her favorite new friends are Cinderella and Mrs. Incredible.

For dinner, we went to a great ramen noodle place on Saratoga in San Jose, which is infamous, apparently: Ramen Halu. This place does authentic ramen like no one else does. Most folks, like me, only associate ramen with what you ate in college because it was cheap. Ramen Halu was started by a local Japanese surfer boy, who mastered his ramen recipe in Japan before relocating to California. Two custom-designed surfboards hang from the restaurant wall, and small-framed pictures of various surfing spots hover near every table. His own personal surfboard rests in a corner, covered by a sheath.

I read a great review of Ramen Halu after, so I clipped it and pasted it here, because I can't do any better than this description:

"Ramen Halu makes three types of ramen: Shio ramen, with sea salt-flavored broth ($6.50); Tokyo ramen, with soy sauce-flavored broth ($6.50); and the namesake Halu ramen--a savory, thick, pork-based concoction ($6.90). Thick or thin noodles swim in the broth alongside sliced pork, green onions, seaweed, bamboo shoots, spinach and cloud ear mushrooms. Extra toppings like fresh cabbage, corn and boiled egg can be added for a buck each. The stock in the Halu ramen is luscious and milky with just a bite of saltiness. Flecks of white pork fat float on the top, a reassuring sign to Japan-born ramen eaters, but probably a turn-off to health-conscious Californians. Though murky to the spoon, it was delicious paired with thick, al dente noodles--chewy but fresh and hearty."

Olivia looooves her ramen




Now my ramen-consciousness is forever changed. I'm sure that I'll be jones-ing for some ramen very soon...