Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Sabina Visits

Tina and I hadn't seen Sabina since we got married (3 years ago), so it was great to catch up with her.  She told us how glad she was that we were now on the West Coast and we'd be able to see each other more.  Because of Tina's schedule, we didn't have enough time to take a trip up to Vancouver, so Sabina came down to see us instead.  As you'll see by the photos below, we did a lot of eating.

We first went to Din Tai Fung in Bellevue, a famous restaurant known for its xiao long bao (soup dumplings).  Originating in Taipei, the owner brought its recipes and popularity over to America, opening two locations in LA and one in Seattle.  Was it good?  Yes, it was very good.  Was it the best I had ever had?  Not sure.  I have a feeling the original restaurant in Taipei would probably produce better xiao long bao - the ingredients are probably different, even though the recipe is the same.  But it was still great food.


Group picture with the xiao long bao.  I was surprised at how quickly everything came out, but I suppose they have to make a lot in a short amount of time to meet the demand.  We went early to beat the crowds, but I heard the wait for a table can get ridiculous during busy hours.


Tina and I with the xiao long bao and veggie dumplings.  We also got a taro-filled xiao long bao, which was as interesting as it sounds.  The filling was great, but I think I personally prefer the fluffy bao exterior over the dumpling-style skin for sweets.


Tina wanted to take a picture with the Din Tai Fung mascot.


Later that day, we went to Volunteer Park, where there was an outdoor concert going on.  Whole Foods was handing out free fruit popsicles, so we gladly accepted.  The rest of the day was spent walking around or watching episodes of Tin Tin.  

The following day, we went to the Broadway Street Farmer's Market, hoping to find some lunch there.  Instead, we decided to go to Plum Vegan Bistro, in part because Sabina prefers not to eat meat.  You can read the Yelp review I wrote, but to summarize it: it was very salty.  It's interesting how some vegan restaurants can try really hard to imitate non-vegan things, when they could probably make good food by just making food without using animal products as ingredients (they had imitation mac n cheese, ricotta cheese, vegan crepes, etc. - I think they just tried too hard).  It was good to check out a new restaurant, though.


Group photo at Plum Vegan Bistro.


Later that day, we walked to Melrose Market, where we experienced an interesting outdoor festival going on.  Then we headed to the International District, walked / shopped around for a bit, and decided to go to Spring Garden for Vietnamese food.


Group photo at Spring Garden.  Sabina and I ordered pho, which was not bad.  Tina had lemongrass beef with vermicelli, which she enjoyed.


Overall, it was a fun weekend.  The weather held up nicely, we were able to check out new restaurants, and most importantly, we got to spend some time with Sabina.  Next on the list of places to visit is Vancouver!

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