Thus Far A Fine Fall

I shall always remember the start of Autumn 2010. It began September 29th when me and a student drove to Miami to first, visit sifu (teacher), then meet up again on Saturday October 2nd to see the Rush Time Machine tour at Coral Sky in West Palm; then hit up the 1st Oriental Market for those harder to find items (yuzu mainly but also char siu) and my favorite Banh Mi shop in Orlando. After the return home a trip to Sesame Street Live on Wednesday was on the agenda as was a Saturday of shopping for Halloween decorations and a visit to the pumpkin patch! A man could be in worse situations.

After having read my wife Grace's blog and my sister Tania's blog , and given the coolness of recent events, I thought it was an appropriate time to "resurface".

One of only two signs in the world

I stopped by my sifu's school in Miami to complete the jong (we favor the Cantonese variation). Thus far this has done my kung fu immeasurable good. First the added vocabulary makes it infinitely more fun and interesting to improvise the jong. Second, I know have a point of reference for the way in which mine plays. With mine the arms are considerably more dense and have much less wiggle room at the openings; also I think the trunk may be a bit heavier, actually it just seems more heavy duty in general. What I thought was very cool about the jong at school though, was feeling all the contours in specific areas-- the results of repeated strikes over the years. I wondered if or when (after how long) I'd begin to detect any concavities of the years on mine.
Regardless I now feel as though I am becoming fluent with it. Like someone that can summon rudiments at will, in asymmetric time, while grooving; I am in full exploration mode. Recently my daughter spied me playing with the ideas in section 4 and things were never the same.
"What's that?" She said.
"That's a Jong." I replied.
"Jong." She affirmed aloud.
"Me too?" She inquired.
I immediately lifted her to arm level and she proceeded to "play" the jong. When she'd hit it too hard, she would rub her little hands, then go right back to attempting maneuvers. This was about a week ago. Since then she calls every pole (from swing sets to parking meters) a jong then proceeds to close in and flail about it. I hope this keeps up.

Sifu's Miami Ving Tsun class at around midnight when most people had left

Dahlia on the jong. Filmed on 10/09/10

Mine; debating whether to name it.

Friday October 1st was a great day; morning with mom, lunch at the Shake Shack (which was excellent by the way), a day with my sisters and "The Bot" after procuring my favorite cigars, then dinner at South Garden (more than merely respectable) with Tania.
On Saturday the 2nd, my sisters and I had lunch from La Sandwicherie, (which thankfully have started bottling their dressing) and then drove to West Palm after picking up my student in North Miami.

Excellent burgage, but better frozen custard (not pictured)

The gentleman who hand rolls all of my cigars. He does stellar work!

Later that day
I can go on and on about the show. How it was a little warm but not unbearable. How the obnoxious beer vendors would manifest, with whistles, at the worst possible moments then purposely opt for the route that made the most people move to maximize attention. I was not quiet with my opinions; nor diplomatic (thinking back that was counter productive). Or how Geddy's voice was shaky during Spirit of Radio and Time Stand Still; but came together during Presto and nailed every note since. I think I'll stop now.

Coral Sky used to be my favorite venue. I have never seen a bad show there. Unfortunately the beer vendors ruined some glorious moments.

The next day, Sunday October 3rd, was all about Char Siu and Banh Mi. After spending the night in a Ft. Pierce La Quinta, the next stop was at 1st Oriental Market in Orlando. Their bakery and prepared foods section (where the Char Siu was) were impressive. No luck finding Yamasa brand soy sauce but I did find jellied yuzu (no yuzu juice alas) and the almighty char siu for making my own Banh Mi at home. We then headed to Ba Le Bakery on North Mills avenue for the finest Banh Mi in Florida. It was stellar as usual.

A remarkable Banh Mi from Ba Le Bakery

The baked goods at 1st Oriental Market

Fresh eels.

Minutes later they brought out an entire deep fried pig.

Char siu

The new week had brought with it Sesame Street Live and on Wednesday the 5th; we all went out for pizza and a show. My daughter Dahlia seemed to have a wonderful time and was sufficiently spent for a fitful sleep that night.

Saturday October 9th the look of the day was gorgeous and a family trip to the pumpkin patch, which has become an annual event, was in order. Since we were here early this year we will most likely be back before Halloween as no doubt the Jack-O-Lanterns will have rotted by then. Alas the outside decorations are up and I am armed with a list of seasonally inspired food items (Candy Apple Cake, Graveyard Pudding, Pumpkin Flan, etc..). I actually made the pumpkin flan. I consciously held back on the amount (both volume and varieties) of spices I used since, pumpkin especially, is easily over spiced. The flan is flavored with a dose of vanilla bean, a whisper of mace and a flick of cinnamon. The syrup, is a light-ambered tangerine caramel. The flavor was spot-on perfect; the texture, unfortunately, turned out a little mealy. Next time I shall stick to heavy cream.

At the pumpkin patch. I love The Great Pumpkin theme!


The Pumpkin Flan; molded and unmolded.