Ni Hao Beijing!

September 15, 2011

On Sunday (coincidentally, it was the 10th anniversary of 9/11...eerie...), I flew to Beijing for some work meetings and landed on  Monday afternoon. My coworker, Brenna, and I were staying at a nice little hotel called the Park Hyatt Beijing, and here's my smloudy view (smog + cloudy):

TUESDAY (9/13)

Our work meetings weren't until Wednesday, so Brenna and I signed up for a day-tour of Beijing through Grayline Tours. We chose the Emperor's Tour of Beijing, which included stops at Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, a silk factory, Temple of Heaven, a pearl market and Summer Palace. Check out pics below of the various stops.

Tian'anmen Square:

Forbidden City:

Silk Factory:

Temple of Heaven:

Pearl market and Summer Palace:

It was a fantastic day, we got to see so much in one day. That evening, we met up with our global team and our Beijing colleagues for dinner at a restaurant called Jin Xiang You.


WEDNESDAY (9/14)

On Wednesday, we had meetings all-day and then had some time for some global team bonding.

On a side-note, check out this random building that houses a local media outlet CCTV that was designed by a Dutch architect. Locals in Beijing loathe the building as it looks like a man's legs as he squats to go to the bathroom:

Anyway, back to team bonding. What's better fun than getting a Chinese foot massage? We headed to Liangxi Spa for some of that fun:

Post-massage, we headed off to hunt down the local delicacy of Peking Duck at DaDong Restaurant:

Another great day!

We flew back to SF on Thursday (and it always makes me laugh that you fly out at noon on Thursday in Beijing and land at 9 AM on Thursday in SF).

Bai-bai, Beijing!

Coastal Trail-Cataract Trail

September 4, 2011

Will and I joined a gaggle of folks for a hike on Mt. Tam on Saturday of the Labor Day long weekend, starting at the Coastal Trail and hooking up with the Cataract Trail. Check out a few pics below.

Neil and Beth hosted a wonderful post-hike bbq/drink fest at Neil's place in Mill Valley and it was fantastic. Thanks Neil and Beth!

Master Key

August 30, 2011

After a couple years of part-time classes, exams, papers, and group projects, Key has successfully gotten his Masters of Regulatory Science. Congratulations Key!

To celebrate, we went for dinner at Bar Bambino for dinner:

Hooray for Master Key!

Giants Half Marathon 2011

August 29, 2011

It's been 27 days since I ran the first half of the SF Marathon, and since then, I've only run 4 miles (beautiful run around Lost Lake in Whistler, though). So, it makes sense to run another half-marathon without training, right?

On Saturday, I joined Sue Hee and Dale at the start line for the SF Giants sponsored "The Giant Race", which features half-marathon, 10K and 5K distances and raises money for Project Open Hand.

Before the pain:

It was perfect weather for me to do the long run, with overcast sky, and not-too-cold temps to keep me cool. Sue Hee and I slogged through the beautiful course: from AT&T Park along the Embaracadero, past Fisherman's Wharf (10K turnaround), past Aquatic Park, up and over Fort Mason, through the Marina, Crissy Field, and a turnaround before the Warming Hut at Crissy Field, and then back the way we came, ending on the field at AT&T park at third base.

Yay, done! Ow!

Thanks to Sue Hee for keeping me company through the run, I don't think I would've kept running if she hadn't been such great company. We got good schwag from the race: Half-marathon medal, Tim Lincecum bobblehead doll, Nike Cotton dry-fit t-shirt, race bag and goodies.

The race was very well-organized and fun, but maybe I'll sign up earlier to get into the 10K next year...:)

Cotogna

August 27, 2011

On Friday night, I met up with JoJo, Sandy and Key for dinner at Cotogna, located in the Financial District. Cotogna is another brainchild of Chef Michael Tusk, and directly next door to Tusk's other fine-dining establishment and Top 100 restaurant, Quince. Of note, "Cotogna" is Italian for "quince".

It's super hard to get reservations at Cotogna, and I was psyched to tag along, as I've been wanting to try this place. We ordered a bunch of starters to share:

Monterey Bay squid with chili and mint:

Warm ricotta with figs and smoked almonds:

Heirloom tomatoes with tuna crudo:

For dinner, Key had the pizza with roman broccoli, pork sausage and aged provolone:

Sandy opted for the local cod with cranberry beans and pesto rosso:

JoJo and I went for the pappardelle with braised pork sugo:

Desserts to share, starting with the bombolini with ricotta, strawberries and limoncello sauce:

Peach and almond crostata:

Chocolate-caramel tart with olive oil and lavender:

The dinner was fantastic. The standouts were the warm fig appetizer and I liked the pappardelle. The best dessert was the chocolate-caramel tart, hands down.

Thanks to JoJo for snagging the elusive reservation, and go check out Cotogna sometime...if you can get a reservation or get very lucky just walking in...