day one

day one on the west coast consisted of many "hi! i haven't seen you in so long!" comments, "auntie, uncle, this is cavin" introductions, and "are you going to be next?" questions (directed towards me about getting married, because the main reason we were out in california was for my cousin's wedding). the rehearsal dinner was thursday night also, and while i don't have any pictures posted here, let me just tell you the priest and church coordinator were completely anal, the music (two guys singing bee gees type karaoke) was deafeningly loud, the food was mediocre (filipino cooked without much care), and we were dead tired because we had traveled all day and opted not to go out with my cousins and her million bridesmaids and groomsmen. (seriously, there were 8 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen!)

day two

my morning started pretty early, with me having to travel to my uncle's house to pick up the minivan we were borrowing all weekend (which was very gracious of them). before we even flew out to the west coast, we decide that we might as well do the whole touristy thing because cavin had never been, and i hadn't been in a long, long time. we got our asses out of union city and drove downtown and parked. here are the noisy, and sometimes mean to each other, sea lions that reside in fisherman's wharf.

while we were waiting to meet gaberage, we walked to ghirardelli square to sample some chocolate and get iced coffee. we then rode a street car (for free, because the driver was all kinds of late) to the rincon center, and when we got off at our stop, there was all kinds of hoo-ha going on.

apparently, we were just in time to hear the end of a speech about the value of having goals when you are a child, blah blah blah, from the one and only, barry bonds. who knew that august 24 was barry bonds day? i guess all the people on their lunch break walking past that exact moment, figured it out, as we did.


after we met up with gaberage, we put our names in to eat deem sum (dim sum) at yank sing, a place i had researched before we left dc. it was very tasty, and between the three of us, we were able to sample lots of fresh food, including mushroom dumplings, sesame balls, turnip cakes, and fried taro (my favorite). while it was quite good, it was a little on the pricey side. (we did have a lot to eat, i'll admit, but still!) though, i'd say the food was a lot more fresh than what i've seen on the east cost, and there was much more selection at yank sing than i've seen in PA, NJ, MD or DC.





after lunch we drove on lombard street, the crookedest street. since i was driving my uncle's white 1989 minivan, i was a little scared driving up and down the steep streets, especially when tourists were standing in the middle of the road, not caring that these were actual streets where cars were whizzing by. i almost ran over people, not by accident, but because they were being stupid and standing in the middle of the road taking pictures. i'm all for taking pictures, but come on! stupid asshole tourists! :)

after stuffing our faces, we walked off all the calories consumed by heading towards the golden gate bridge. we drove across the bridge, parked on the sausalito side, and walked south across it, towards san francisco. well, we actually only walked half-way, and then walked back. (it was windy!) it was a little bit scary walking across, after all press lately with the bridge in minnesota collapsing, but i'm still alive and here to tell the tale. plus, i started freaking out thinking, 'what if there were drunk drivers driving and weren't paying attention and drove their car into me!'...i know i know. i can't help it. i worry too much. but still!

barry bonds day was a pretty good day. after i argued with my dad about when we would be home and dropped off gaberage, we made it back to one of my uncle's houses where my (huge) family was all there enjoying oysters on the grill, lots of filipino food, and ended the night with our friends, don julio and johnnie walker (black label, of course).

day three

our third day in california was all about the wedding. it was a very "west coast" style wedding, with the majority of the 300+ attendees being filipino, and most of them being the bridal party (hehe). since the ceremony was at 10am (early!), the five east coasters (pv, reg, gavitron, cavin, and i) couldn't wait until cocktail hour for food. we satisfied our craving by hitting up the infamous (and non-existant on the east coast) in-and-out burger joint. apparently the way to go is "double double animal style" (which is essentially a glorified big mac). it was very tasty (and i'm sure a zillion calories). i'm glad we didn't go animal style on the fries, though, it probably would have helped their naturally dry taste and texture.

there was lots of dancing at the 7.5 hour reception. the only problem was that cocktail hour started at 2pm, and by 4:30-5pm, the "open bar" ran out and it turned to cash bar. hunh? i guess that's what happens when you have 300+ people at your wedding and all of them are boozers. the parents (especially east coast) were a little ho hum because only krunk music was being played. they complained that the music was too loud, but seriously. if they had been playing swing music, and the todo todo todo, would they have been complaining about how loud the music was? probably not. the night ended with another (regretful) trip to in-and-out burger for more eating and drawing on a narcoleptic's face - gavitron. (don't get me wrong - in-and-out was good the second time around, but i don't think it was really that necessary to get more burgers to eat before retiring to bed).

day four

in the morning before going to luzelle's mansion for the next-day brunch, the east coasters and the san diego first cousins decided to hit napa valley. we were tired of eating filipino food all weekend, and welcomed the french food at bistro jeanty, which is actually in yountville, ca. [bouchon, which was a few doors down was all booked for lunch! :( ]

we ordered:
duck and goat cheese pate
home cured pork belly with lentil and foie gras ragout
fried smelts
beet and mache salad with goat cheese
onion tart
cassoulet
pork chops
coq au vin
sole meuniere
pomme frites
white wine / rose

the food was decent, but nothing outstanding. i thought the onion tart and duck rilletes and faux gras terrine we had at central last month was much better. we didn't get a chance to do the whole "wine tasting" tour of napa valley, but that's ok. now that we know it's only 45 minutes from relatives house in the bay area, i'm sure cavin and i will make a special trip in the near future to do the whole sideways bit.

we left the next morning with a broken thumb (i'm exaggerating, though, cavin did lose a battle with one of the oysters), a 40 pound box of longaniza (which i'll probably need to wait on eating because i'm sick of filipino food), down on our sleep (which resulted in me getting sick!), and 5 pounds heavier. i guess that's what the west coast style is all about?

Labels: event, filipino, restaurant, travel, wine