As is expected in life, time goes by and we all get older, and this is a big year for the 1976 Year of the Dragon babies in our circle. Abe's big 30th birthday is rapidly approaching (May 17), and we planned a night of activities to celebrate the weekend before (because you really can't do justice to a 30th birthday on a weeknight...right?).
But first, Saturday started off with some great touristing activities with Adam and Arissa. The Montreal guests were jonesing for some dim sum, so Will, Adam, Arissa and I headed downtown to check out the infamous dim sum at Yank Sing, a top pick in the bay area for this delectable asian brunch. There are two locations downtown, and we chose to go to the one in Rincon Center. Our experience was on par with what I've read about dining at Yank Sing, the service was efficient, polite and very professional. The Sui Mai and Ha Gao was terribly tasty, and we got to try new and inventive items that were impressive, including a tenderly wrapped dumpling with sizeable chunks of lobster. One suggestion though, is to take the Muni down, as we parked at 30 minute limit meter and one poor soul had to leave the eat-fest and go feed the meter every half hour.
We were blessed with a sun-kissed weekend in SF, and we headed off in Lavonda the Honda on a driving tour of the sights, which included: Embarcadero, North Beach, Lombard Street, Fort Mason, and we parked and walked around Crissy Field in the Marina. From Crissy Field, we walked through the Palace of Fine Arts, and to the Marina district for a coffee break at the Grove Cafe.
After so much sun and fresh air, we headed back to the house to chill-ax and prep for the evening's festivities.
The itinerary for Abe's pre-3-OH celebration:
7 pm - Sushi party at our house
9 pm - Watch the Kaboom! Fireworks from the dog park hill by our house
11 pm - Go to Chinatown and drink at the dive bar, Li Po
2 am - Karaoke at Do-Re-Mi in Japantown
(Anyone notice the all-Asian theme?)
So, after some major sticky-rice-making, fish cutting, veggie chopping, miso-soup-creating, edamame-blanching, and living-room-set-up, folks started rolling in and the sushi rolling began. In rolling your sushi rolls, it's important to know that you must have wet hands before touching the sticky rice, or you're in for some tough times.
After some major sushi rolling and eating, and a few sake bombs later, we had to jet outta the house and up to the dog park hill to catch the fireworks. Thankfully, it was a clear night and some of the neighbors had brought a boombox to broadcast the KFOG fireworks musical accompaniment. In addition to the sweet fireworks, we were entertained by Ashley's ongoing commentary ("Look, they look like cherry trees...get it? Cherry tree!" during KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree") and Abe's insistence that the rising moon was actually the Mormon temple in east bay. (Get him another sake bomb!)
Around 11 pm, folks started motivating to the next stop, the well-known dive bar, Li Po in Chinatown. It took about 45 minutes and three calls to Yellow Cab to get three cabs. I was in the last cab down there, and when we arrived, it became very clear that Li Po was definitely a dive bar, but not in the same stride that we were on that night.
We needed more stimulation, so there's no better place than North Beach for any kind of stimulation. We ended up at the Bubble Lounge, a classic North Beach crowd (gaggles of girls fixing their cleavage in the bathroom) with a really nice look to the main room. Although they are known for their bubbly drinks, thank goodness they actually had some hard liquor. And by "thank goodness", I really mean "oh dear".
By 1:45 am, there was some definite swaying in the walking and anxiousness to go karaoke. We headed over to Do-Re-Mi in Japantown and squeezed into a small room. We sang, and sang, for almost two hours. Some highlights include:
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
"Fake Plastic Trees" - Radiohead
"Dancing Queen" - ABBA
"Thank God I'm A Country Boy" - John Denver
"I Want It That Way" - Backstreet Boys
"Be With You" - Mr. Big
"Hard To Say I'm Sorry" - Chicago
Around 3:40 am, the lagging fools who just couldn't give up the microphone finally called it quits. That, and the fact that they were closing shop and kicked us out, but that's just a minor detail. Shaun was kind enough to drive us home and, unfortunately, I that freakin' Mr. Big song in my head and it carried on into my dreams.
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