POP! Producing Our Power Final

P.O.P!, which stands for Producing Our Power, was the final for all of the ETHS 210 classes. The four classes taught by Irene Duller, Valerie Soe, Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, and Isabelle Thuy Pelaud all came together and put on a four piece show that showcased what was learned throughout the semester. It was a night of performances by way of video, dance, spoken word, skit, and music. The show was held at the Brava Theater at 2781 24th Street and York in the Mission district of San Francisco.

Our class split into six groups and all came up with different ways to commemorate the events that we did in class this semester. We had a News Video that was about our midterm and how we commemorated the 1968 Strike at SFSU. Then we had a skit group that dealt with Asian American stereotypes and a dance group that did three different dances. Next was another skit group that did a reading and improv performance through blogging. That was followed by a poetry skit that was about the Korean resistance of Japanese soldiers. The last part was a music representation where two of our peers rapped and talked about Asians making it in the music industry. We concluded our show with a commemoration video of our class, which had pictures of our class groups, our wonderful professor Irene, and our TA Lawrence.

Although we only had about a week to put together our showcase, I think our final performance went very well. I was a little bummed that we didn’t get to watch what our class had put together, but I am sure it rocked. Since the group I was in went second to last, we got to watch the end of our show and it was a wonderful wrap up to the class; props and thanks to the video group for making the commemoration video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esNNubKu4cg

I thought that POP was a really great way to end the semester and sum up our class. Usually teachers give a test to see what their students have learned, but this performance was by far a better way to test our knowledge and abilities. Also, tests are not always the best choice for certain subjects, especially culture. Just as you can’t fully learn about culture through books but rather through experience, you cannot test about culture by way of an essay or exam. It is best to actually get up and show what you know about culture and to let your voice and opinion be heard. This was my absolute favorite class that I have taken at SFSU, and I think this final shows why – it is fun, different, and definitely impacting.

Where the sushi at?

My favorite food is by far Japanese food and I am always going out to eat sushi and what not with friends and family, so I have tried quite a lot of restaurants in the area. Here are what I think of the main ones that I go to:

For sushi:
Sakana Bune
5701 Geary Blvd(between 21st Ave & 22nd Ave)San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 387-8561

If you want to go to a sushi boat restaurant totally hit up this place in the outer Richmond district of San Francisco. The price range is alright and I think the sushi is pretty good. They also have good udon and Unagi (barbecue eel) bowl. My favorite roll to get is the Sakana house tempura roll, which has crab meat and unagi rolled in rice and seaweed a, deep fried and drizzled with teriyaki sauce. DELICIOUS!

For noodles:
Hotei Restaurant
1290 9th Avenue(between Irving St & Lincoln Way)San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 753-6045
http://www.yelp.com/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hoteisf.com&src_bizid=ahbIrrZSm2gC1DP6nQ2Dew

This Japanese restaurant specializes in Japanese noodle dishes. I must say that their udon and soba are quite excellent and delicious. The atmosphere inside is very pretty and the presentation of the dishes are nice as well. I would definitely recommend the Tsukimi Udon and the Tempura Soba.

For bento box or entrée dishes:
Traval Okazu Ya
1735 Taraval Street(between 27th Ave & 28th Ave)San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 759-6850

There are a few Okazu Ya restaurants in the sunset, but I like this one best because they have a large variety of items to choose from and the service is great. Though the place looks small, there is actually a lot of seating because there is a whole room in the back. I like getting one of the pre set dinner combo bento boxes, like one that comes with tuna sashimi, chicken teriyaki, and tempura with rice, miso soup, and tsunemono.

For sushi and bento box:
Sushi Boat
389 Geary St(between Mason St & Powell St)San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 781-5111

I always eat lunch here with my mom whenever we’re downtown because it is convenient and the food is pretty good. This is also another sushi boat establishment (hence the name) and you can just pick what you want right off the boats as they float by. We usually always get a two item combo bento box to share and just grab a few plates of sushi for lunch and we’re full.

** I think sushi boat restaurants are my favorite because if you don’t know what you want, you can just wait for something to catch your eye and grab it and enjoy. So if you have never been to a sushi boat type of Japanese restaurants then definitely try one out and I’m sure you’ll love it. Like I took my cousins from Seattle and Los Angeles to one on Clement Street and they loved it because they didn’t have these back home.

There is also a yummy sushi buffet place in Davis, CA:
Fuji Sushi Boat and Buffet
213 G St Davis, CA 95616
(530) 753-3888

Every year I go drive up with friends to have a delicious sushi buffet lunch with friends and then go visit people in Davis. This restaurant is great for the amount of food that you eat for the price you pay. You only pay like $15 per person after tax and tip for as much sushi, sashimi, tempura, soft shell crab, and a few other items that you can eat.

So i hope these restaurant recommendations are helpful if you are ever at a loss for finding a Japanese restaurant to eat at. You can also feel free to look up these places on http://www.yelp.com/ to see what other people think.

mMm Dessert!!!

I would have to say that my top five favorite Chinese desserts are Don Taat (egg custard tart), Nye Wong Boa (bun filled with egg custard paste), Jin Dui (deep fried sesame ball), Hung Dau Tong (red bean soup), and Hun Yun Dau Fu (almond jello).

1. Don Taat is my all time favorite, especially with a flaky crust and if they just came fresh out of the oven and are a little warm. Whenever I go out with family or friends to “yum cha” (which directly translates to drink tea, but means get dim sum), we always get these.

2. Nye Wong Boas are really yummy buns, but only taste good when they are warm or else the filling gets kind of hard. It’s funny because I used to hate them when I was little, but that all changed after my trip to Hong Kong. After one dinner, they served us some of these buns and the filling oozed out because they literally just came out of the oven. They were so delicious that I couldn't believe that I ever disliked them.

3. I love jin duis. The crunchy outside and the chewy gooey inside are just so good. When I eat them I like to lick the red bean paste out and save (what I think is) the best part for last – the crunchy chewy mochi shell.

4. Hoong Dau Tong is served as the dessert at most of the Chinese restaurants that I eat at. It is an acquired taste because there are while read beans in it and chunks of taro root. There also isn’t that much liquid in it and the tapioca with all the other ingredients makes it very thick. When I eat it I like to sift out the red beans and just get the liquid and tapioca pearls.

5. I always enjoy a nice bowl of jello, but Hun Yun Dau Fu had to be one of my top picks. It is a little more fragile, like flan, then regular Jell-O brand jello, and has a distinct taste. It tastes excellent alone, but can also be enhanced by adding a little bit of fruit cocktail to it. I also love the smell of the almond jello, and it is strange but in some bathrooms the pink soap smells the same as this. If you have never had this before I definitely recommend picking up a box of the mix and making a dish of it.

You can most likely try these items at any dim sum restaurant along with many other delicious dishes. I would recommend “S&T Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant” in SF on the corner of 33rd and Noriega in the sunset district. Though it is a little pricier than other places, the food is really really good. (But a little tip for finding the place is that the sign outside only says “Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant”.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/s-and-t-hong-kong-seafood-restaurant-san-francisco

Asians on Video ...

So just a little while back a friend of mine, Anna, told me to watch these videos on YouTube by Kev Jumba and Happy Slip. It just so happens that they are both Asian American and have videos on relevant topics like interracial marriage, family, and Asian ways of doing things. You should totally check them out on their YouTube channels.

KEV JUMBA:
Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kevjumba?ob=1

VIDEOS:
“Girls Are Like M&Ms"This video is my favorite and it talks about interracial marriage. Kevin is so right in how Asian parents only want their kids to marry another Asian person and not have mixed babies. Also, at one of the first ASU meetings I went to at SFSU, we had a discussion on interracial marriage and some people had super strict parents which took it a step further and only want them to marry a specific type of Asian, like only Chinese or Korean. So let's take a page from Kevin's book and treat everyone like M&Ms!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlhVwaY7EdQ

“Put It In Purse”
Both Kev Jumba and Happy Slip are in this re-enactment of how Kevin learned how to drive stick shift. It involves family and how Asians are kinda cheap (save a couple hundred by not getting an automatic). It also has a little taste of Asian accents and how it can be hard to understand certain words – “purse” = first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywWmGbpUKXM&feature=channel_page

Website:
http://www.kevjumba.com/

Happy Slip:
YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/HappySlip?ob=1

VIDEOS:
“Boypren”
This video is about how Christine’s cousin Minnie got a boyfriend. Now Christine’s aunt is gloating to her parents, which shows how Asian families are competitive with their children. It also has a little taste of Asian accents and how it can be hard to understand certain words – “boypren” = boyfriend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6GmWPS9EWw&feature=channel_page

“Fragile”
This video is about Christine’s cousin Minnie going off to college and her mother getting someone to watch over her at the new school – enter cousin Christian. This is all about how Asian parents and families are so overprotective and like to be involved in every aspect of their child’s life, like picking what college they go to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3dFBubg7Xc&feature=channel_page

Happy Slip Family: Christine, Dad, Minnie, Grandma, Mom, Auntie

Website:
http://www.happyslip.com/

Asians rockin out on TV

I watch wayyy too much television, but that is what inspired this blog.

I recall reading an article in the Road Trip issue of Hyphen Magazine that talked about Asians and Asian Americans being more prevalent in television and media. Which is true, but there are still not very many Asian actors and actresses out there and they are not really represented anywhere.

From the shows I watch i do see a few Asians here and there, but they are still predominantly non Asians.

SHOWS:
Grey’s Anatomy:
Sandra Oh plays Dr. Chritina Yang (Korean)

One Tree Hill:
Kelsey Chow plays Gigi Silveri (Chinese)
Michael Copon played Felix Taggaro (half Filipino)
Daniella Alonso played Anna Taggaro (part Japanese)

Gossip Girl:
Yin Chang plays Nelly Yuki (Taiwanese, Chinese, and Malaysian)
Nan Zhang played Kati Farkas (Chinese)
Purva Bedi played Clare (Indian American)

Gilmore Girls:
Emily Kuroda played Mrs. Kim (Japanese American)
Keiko Agena played Lane Kim (Japanese American)
Susane Lee played Kyon (Chinese American)
Eddie Shin played Henry Cho (Korean American)
Denice Kumagai played Aunt Jun (Japanese American)
Samson Yi played Young Chui
Also Kim Kim, Jae Woo Lee, and Alexis Rhee played Korean relatives on the show.

Lipstick Jungle:
Lindsey Price plays Victory Ford (half Korean)
Cashmere Mafia:
Lucy Liu played Mia Mason (Chinese American)
Jack Yang played Jason Chung
Purva Bedi played Juliet’s Assistant (Indian American)

Knight Rider:
Smith Cho plays Zoe Chae (Korean American)
Jack Yang played Cross
Suite Life of Zack and Cody:
Brenda Song plays London Tipton (Korean American)

REALITY TV SHOWS:
Dancing With The Stars:
Carrie Ann Inaba – Judge (part Japanese and Chinese)

Top Chef:
Padma Lakshmi – Judge and host (Indian)
Hung Hyunh - chef – Season 3 winner (Vietnamese American)

Project Runway:
Chloe Dao - fashion designer– Season 2 winner (Vietnamese American)

Survivor:
Yau-Man Chan – contestant on Survivor: Fiji and Survivor: Micronesia (Chinese)

Big Brother:
Jun Song – Season 4 winner (Korean)

(Mostly thanks to imdb.com for actor/actress biographies, where i was able to find the Asian ethnicities of these actors/ actresses. Also i got my photos from various websites from a yahoo images search.)

Poem Response

The Mah-Jong Players

under the halo
of a hanging lamp

Yellow ivories
clacking in the night

Tobacco fingers
build walls of China

Circles birds flowers
swirling through the game

The poem I chose to write about is titled “The Mah-Jong Players” from the book Crazy Melon and Chinese Apple – The Poems of Frances Chung. In this poem she is writing about people playing a game of Mah-Jong, which is like the Chinese version of the card game “Jin Rummy”. The poem paints a picture of a group of smoking men playing MJ at a table under a dim light one Friday night. They are probably playing to de-stress from all the work from the day and sit down to a good time. All the jade colored tiles clacking around while they build their walls and then, while the game plays out the different tiles come out – the circles, birds, and flowers. As they are playing I can just hear them talking in Chinese about their lives and also yelling about the cards that are out and what tiles they should’ve kept or not.

I chose it because the game Mah-Jong touches close to home with me. My family and I play weekly after our Friday night dinners. We also play on holidays and any other time we are either at my grandparents’ house or all get together on a Sunday. Although, it is usually just the women in the family who play, every now and then my grandpa, dad, cousins, or uncles will join in. I always look forward to good old family bonding time at the MJ table, but nowadays work and school has not allowed me to go to many of the Friday dinners so I don’t get to play as much – which makes me a little sad.

I can recall many funny memories from games that were played throughout the years. Like this one that involves my Pau Pau (grandma), who really only knows Cantonese, but she has picked up a little English with time. So, one night, we were playing and when she dropped out the bird tile, she said “birdie-ah, cheep cheep.” That made us all laugh and now she always says birdie. Also, it’s funny how my grandpa can play without organizing any of his cards and still win. One time, he was playing and I was standing behind him mid game and noticed all his cards were jumbled, but then all of a sudden he just peeked over at my aunt’s cards and said “oh, nice.” Everyone was saying “hey! No cheating Gong Gong,” but then he plops his cards down with the win. Now I like to peek over at the person next to me’s cards when I pick my own tile and win. Oh how I love the hilarious things my grandparents do!


This is a pic of three "Fat Choy" tiles (and two 4 of circles), where this character is for good luck. You can also see the tile walls in the background and a couple playing hands.

Bio - Pic of AA Poet Frances Chung

For the poetry unit of the class, I choose the Chinese American poet Frances Chung (1950 to 1990). She was born and raised at the border of New York’s Chinatown and Little Italy. Her mother and father are Chee Kin and Wilbur Chung, and she has an older sister Edna. At Smith College, she got a degree in mathematics and after graduating she taught at public schools in the Lower East Side of New York.

There is not much about her online, but I gather that most of her poetry is for her to let out her thoughts and experiences. The book I found is Crazy Melon and Chinese Apple – The Poems of Frances Chung. The titles “Crazy Melon” and “Chinese Apple” are from two unpublished book manuscripts that were found in Chung’s papers. These poems show and describe her living in New York’s Chinatown in the 1960’s and 70’s. “Crazy Melon deftly sketches the streets, fantasies, commerce and toil of Chung’s neighborhoods, while the later Chinese Apple offers new themes and cityscapes – delightfully understated eroticism, tributes to poets, impressions of other Chinese diasporic communities around the world.” From the Commentary by Walter K Lew, Frances also really liked the bookmaking process and was passionate about authenticating her work to get it out in the world for people to read. She would even make her own paperback books with folded sheets of paper and the “Crazy Melon” manuscript was kept in a clear box where she taped a plum candy wrapper to the lid and stamped her red Chinese seal.

I found Frances Chung just by chance landing in the Asian American aisle at the SFSU Bookstore. Katrina and I were on break in-between classes and we were originally looking for a food book that I heard about, but we were a little lost and just so happened to be standing in front of the AA section. Then a light bulb went off that we should look for our poets and see if we could find any poetry books here. We ended up finding this book full of Asian American poets, called Yobo - Korean American Writing in Hawai‘i. When I got home I looked up some of the poets that wrote poems that I liked online and found Walter K Lew. Then I saw that his book was at the SFPL so I went to check it out, but it was missing and then I found Frances Chung’s book. I thought the title was cool so I flipped through it and read some of her poems and there you go – my poet.

Angry Little Girls! By Lela Lee

Lela Lee created the Angry Little Girls! as a little video in 1994 at UC Berkeley. She was a little afraid to show it to anyone, so after a couple years she got back into the idea and made a few more videos; making the “5 Angry Episodes”. Then, after the success of some t shirts, Lela made debuted her own website in 1998. She was able to go on many meetings to try to turn her video into a cartoon, but she no one accepted because “there’s just no market for Asians.”

This is what really sparked the idea of her site and comics, which is a place for people who don’t belong can fit in and be welcomed. Lela ended up creating a bunch more characters, Deborah, Wanda, Maria, Xyla, Pat, Patsy Pup, Percy Cat, and Chuy the Travelin' Chicken, who all add a different points of view and reactions to anger, as everyone else does.

Now Lela is happily creating more comics for her fans. Now, Lela “enjoys acting and lives happily in Los Angeles with her husband, baby boy and cat.” She is also happily creating more comics for her fans, and you can find her books in stores. (Keep an eye out for her fifth edition, out February 2009.)

I really think that all of her stuff is hilarious and relatable because I am Chinese and have experienced some of the things in her work. Some of her comics, bags, and t shirts all touch on stereotypes of Asian Americans. Like:

- English skills:
Bag Caption: Deborah: Wow, you speak English so well. Kim: I was born here you dumbass.
I think it’s so dumb when people assume things based on looks. I mean, has no one learned not to “judge a book by its cover”? Just because someone looks a certain way, like foreign, doesn’t mean they can’t speak English.

- Waste of Money:
bag caption: Kim: I got you a gift.
Mom: why you waste money!?!
Gotta love your mom's wisdom...

My mom acts the same way. Whenever I say I bought her something, she’ll say, “why? I don’t need anything; you should’ve just given me the money.” I guess lots of Asian parents are like that and feel that it’s a waste of money to buy unnecessary things.


- interracial dating/marriage … comic
Many Asian parents want their kids to marry another Asian person, and really look down upon interracial marriage. I was at an ASU meeting on campus a little while ago, and we got very in-depth about this topic. I was surprised how so many people’s parents are so restrictive on who their kids can and cannot date/marry. For example, one girl’s parents even took it a step further and said that she can only marry a Chinese or Korean boy, no one else. Even my one of my friends was talking to her mom about mixed children, one day and it ended the same way. Her mom said, “Yea, mixed babies are cute, but just marry a nice Chinese boy okay.”

- Laundry Stereotype:

Well, I really can’t prove otherwise since my family does own a drycleaner downtown, but it’s not right to assume that all Asians do laundry for a living. Just because that is what many of the Asian immigrants did, doesn't mean that is all we do. People need to look past this and see that anyone can do anything that they set their mind to do.
(and by the way this picture also comes on a T-shirt)

So, check out this site and see all of Lela’s cool items and comics.
http://www.angrylittlegirls.com/
You may be surprised that they don’t just make you laugh, they have deeper meanings. Don’t stereotype people, like Asians and Asian Americans, based on looks (or anything for that matter), and don’t believe all that you see or hear. If everyone stopped having prejudgments of others then we could all get a long a little better and be happier.

Cultural InvASIAN Midterm Reflection

For the midterm we were the poetry group and at first we had some problems actually deciding what to do, but in the end we really pulled through and had something awesome. I felt that by 'bombing' the campus with our lines from poems and personal quotes, we really commemorated the 1968 TWLF strike and showed that we care about our ethnic studies.

I paired up with Jaimie and we attacked the Business building with:
Remember the strike!
Testament For My Students
"They're no different then the administration of this college,

who want to keep education for the select few." ~ Kay Boyle
(student panel) AAS: 40 Years of Struggle & Survival
@ GYM 114 12PM Friday October 31st.

TWLF '68

My experience was cool, despite the fact that i had to get up at 6AM to get to campus at 7AM. I thought it was so cool that we were trying to secretly share, educate, and show people that the Strike is and was very important and we must stand up and fight for our rights again today.
We must save our Asian American Studies and the College of Ethnic Studies now, and not let the work of the people in the 1968 strike be a waste. "The students united will never be defeated!!!"

And in the spirit of our midterm, i decided to write a little poem to get across what i think about the current situation of the budget cuts and what our group did.

That Was Then, This Is Now

The strike of '68
The result is just so great.
But now the problem is back,
and we must be on the attack.
Don't be afraid
we won't let this legacy fade!

My review of The Dim Sum of All Things

The book The Dim Sum of All Things by Kim Wong Keltner is must read. It is a definite page turner because I just could not put it down. I am not an avid reader and don’t tend to like many books, but this one just made me want to keep on reading because I wanted to see what was next in Lindsey Owyang’s life. There are many themes throughout the book that are hot topics to contemplate, like Asian/Asian American stereotypes, interracial dating/ marriage, and cultural identity.

I personally liked the book because I thought Keltner’s unique and fresh writing style made this book a quick and easy to read. I also felt a strong connection between Lindsey’s character and myself because we are both American – Born – Chinese (A.B.C.) in San Francisco, trying to get through life as best we can. From work to fun, or her ‘Pau Pau’ and her brother, I could relate to what she was going through. Right off the bat I found myself thinking in my head, “Oh yeah, that’s totally happened to me too” or “Oh my goodness. That’s so true!” as I was reading. For example, when she goes to the butcher in Chinatown and she orders in Chinese and then she can’t understand what the butcher is saying. I have experienced that and am also a little cautious when I speak Chinese in order to not get stuck in a situation where I can’t respond because I don’t know what the heck they said. Also, I totally agree that “nothing is more repulsive then the combined odors on a Muni bus.” I ride Muni practically every single day and I dread it; because there are so many gross, nasty smells and also the creepy people that just make the ride so torturous, not to forget that the buses are always jam packed too. Furthermore, I too have trouble sometimes talking with my ‘Pau Pau’ and go through the same little caring gestures that Lindsey does, like making me drink ‘dong gua tong’ when I’m sick.

So all in all, you should really pick up a copy if you think you can relate to a white-washed A.B.C. and want to read something that will get you thinking about your own life. This book will make you look at how you live your daily life as an Asian American living in a world that is so crazy. I never thought I’d be the one to recommend a book, but this one was just overflowing with interesting stuff that I have to say it rocks. So get your butt to the nearest bookstore or library and pick up a copy of this wonderful book and get ready for a hilariously good time.

Asian American Culture, Food, Art, Studies, & Family

First we filled in the blanks for what all these elements of what Asian America is, was, and will be. I made these statements and added some doodles for emphasis ...

Then for the second draft/ reworking I did a drawing of my thought of how Asian American FOOD is a delicious pathway to learning about Asian American CULTURE!!!

There are so many Asians and Asian Americans out there and what better way to learn about their different cultures then by taste. Food is a huge part of culture and the way that people cook and eat can show a lot about themselves. All of the spices, herbs, veggies, meats, fruits, and life out there can definitely give you a lesson on how someone or a group of people act. You can learn about religion if they don't eat certain things, their way of life through their cooking style and ingredients, their philosophies by how much detail they put into their dishes, and much more. So we should all open our minds and our mouths to knowledge and eat and taste our way to cultural enlightenment.

APAture 2008 Lap-POP!

So i went to the Lap-POP! event with a couple of my group members and thought it was really cool and a funny show. Well i took a bunch of pictures of the different artists and made a little collage:



Also, my favorite part of the show was when comedian Hasan Minhaj did some stand up comedy. He was just hilarious, and if you like his stuff, go to http://www.hasanminhaj.com/ for more. well i took a little video of his piece, but i'm having some techinical difficulties getting it up ... so i'll try to get it up ASAP.

I'm glad to see that there are so many Asian Pacific American Artists out there and that people are actually loving their work. I had a lot of fun at this event and definitely think I'm going to try to see LapPOP! next year. :D

Reaction to Food Battle and our Viet Philly Recipe

So, for one of our first assignments/ group projects, we were supposed to come up with an "Asian American" dish based on our Ethnic group that we were assigned previously. Then we were to battle Iron Chef style with the other groups. Our group decided on doing a fusion of a Vietnamese Sandwich (Bahn Mi) and the All-American Philly Cheese steak. We kept the bread and toppings from the Viet Sandwich and used the meat and cheese from the Philly Cheese steak to make out "Viet Philly". We were originally going to do a fusion Vietnamese Spring Roll, by using steak instead of shrimp and changing up the dipping sauce, but in the end we chose to make the sandwich instead.

I thought this assignment was really awesome and creative. I absolutely love the Food Network, especially Iron Chef, and was over the moon when this was assigned. Also, I love to cook and bake so this was totally up my alley of choice projects. I wish more of my classes assigned things like this because it makes the class more fun and you get hands on learning about culture via food. Even when i told my friends about what my homework was, they all said "Wow that is hecka tight. I want to do that!" Teachers and professors need to take into account that book work and lecture is not the only way to teach, and try to make things more interesting for their students.

It was fun to actually get in the spirit of the show and have to plate our dish, serve it to judges, and await the battle winners. We went up against the Chinese Philipino Group's (CPGs) "Continental Breakfast". Too bad we lost, but I do agree that their dish was really good and they went above and beyond and made a complete meal on a plate. I also liked watching the other groups battle and see what Asian-American dishes they came up with. And it was especially delicious to get to try the other teams dishes, like AZN +1's Korean bulgogi burger and United's Filipino banana split. Just thinking about all the dishes again is making my mouth water and want to make some yummy food all over again.

All in all, i just want to say thanks for the super fun and yummy assignment and props to whoever came up with the idea of an Asian American Battle of the Chefs.

Ingredients:
- French baguette (sliced in half & toasted)
- Pâté (chopped liver spread)
- Mayonnaise
- Cucumber (cut into small wedges)
- Cilantro
- Pickled carrots (very thinly sliced)
- Pickled Daikon radish (sliced into thin sticks)
- Top round cut of steak
- Cheese (preferably either White American, Provolone, or Cheez Whiz)
- White Wine Vinegar
- Seasonings

Cooking Instructions:
- Thinly slice the steak into small strips/ pieces, then marinate with salt and pepper for at least 20 minutes.
- Cook the steak on a hot pan with oil until brown
- Spread the mayonnaise and pâté on opposite halves of the baguette.
- Put the hot steak and in the baguette and top with cheese so it melts.
- add all the veggies and sprinkle some pepper and a squirt of the vinegar.
- Enjoy!

Reactions to some stuff ...

Sorry I haven’t been keeping u with these journal posts, but here are a couple reactions to a few events in my like involving Asian American culture.
A couple weeks ago I went out to eat at this Chinese restaurant, Han Gong on Taraval Street, with a group of friends. I was actually a little surprised that the service was excellent and the food was really good. I mean usually there are no problems with the food at the other Chinese restaurants that I have eaten at, but the service is usually just alright. This time, the waiter was very nice and accommodating. We felt kind of bad because we ordered one of the set meals, but wanted to change a couple of the dishes. For example, we asked to change the steamed oysters to the honey walnut prawns because only two out of the seven of us liked oysters. At the other places that I eat at, the people would have been a little mad if we wanted to change some things and be a kind of snotty about it, but this guy was really nice and said “sure no problem whatever you like.” Then at the end of the meal, a friend actually made a pie for dessert, so we needed some clean plates to eat it and the waiter kindly brought us some. Usually the workers don’t like it when their patrons stay for a long time, but this restaurant didn’t care that we were there for almost three hours and were very nice the whole time. Comparing this place with others, this one definitely takes the cake on service, taste, and quality. I was amazed that this place was so nice and I am definitely going to come back in the future to have another great meal.
On another note, I got really angry at this Chinese American customer I rang up at my work last week. So here’s what happened: I was working the cashier on a Saturday night at Aéropostale and then this mother and daughter are next in line, I greet them and ask for their e-mail to send them coupons. The daughter said sure and was going to spell it out, but then her mother asked how much their sweatshirt was going to be first, and I told her $29.99. She thought it was going to be fifty percent off, which would have been $19.95, and she wanted me to adjust the price because our sign at the door say “50% off tops”. But I had to tell her that underneath it states ‘Selected styles’ and that the price point above the sweatshirt also says it’s $29.99 not 50% off (like other tops do). Then she said fine, and still decides to get it. When I ask her daughter for her e-mail again, she begins to spell it out, but then her mom says “No!” really forcefully. And what pissed me off was, the mother then begins to speak I Cantonese saying: “No don’t give it to her because she didn’t give you the 50% off. If she gave it to you then you’d give her anything; phone number, e-mail, whatever. But she didn’t so don’t give it.” This made me really angry because she assumed that since I don’t look Chinese I couldn’t possibly understand her and that it’s okay to speak badly of someone in another language. Well I understood every word and I really wanted to nicely call her out on it, but I didn’t. I was going to say to her daughter that I understood her and that I don’t make the prices and I can’t just overwrite the system and change it to the price YOU want. Also what is a little ironic is that she probably thinks that not giving her e-mail hurts me or the store, but it actually just means they won’t be able to save money with the coupons they could get. People are always trying to bargain in our store and don’t read the signs. I can’t believe people are so stingy and get so touchy on a mistake that they made by not reading the signs. I really hate it when people make assumptions based on looks and speak meanly in another language in front of you.

My letter to the editor of Hyphen Magazine.

Dear Harry Mok (Editor in Chief of Hyphen Magazine)

I’m a huge magazine lover and I was ecstatic when I found out that Hyphen magazine is devoted to getting information about Asian American culture out there for people to read. The layout, articles, and writing style are very fresh and fun to read. Also, thanks for the “Commercial Success” article in the Road Trip Issue. It’s really great to hear that Asian Americans are appearing in commercials, especially those who aren’t portraying the typical stereotypes. Hopefully we can slowly but surely work our way into television shows too. Keep up the excellent work and I can’t wait for the next issue!

Sharon Lee

San Francisco, CA

ETHS 210

[and to anyone that hasn't heard of Hyphen magazine, it's a non profit mag that is all about Asian American culture - so check it out. www.hyphenmagazine.com]