I had the opportunity tonight to do 2 restaurant reviews.
One is Little Tokyo which is on Geary Blvd. and another is Top Cafe which is a Chinese-American cafe down in Cupertino.
Little Tokyo Review
Top Cafe Review
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Third World
I have to say that that movie in class had so much meaning in it, most people would be speechless. I mean people in State just want a better teaching environment and the board denies this just because of their color? Man what the heck,I thought that we were over this bullshit about "different ethnicity" at that time, I guess I was wrong. So if they can't have a better environment to learn then it is time to strike my friend, we the people will stand strong to our beliefs that all people deserve and equal education. Again the board got in the way and used violence to solve the problem, but the people were only chanting, I mean we have a law stating everyone has a freedom of speech, so what does the board do, they go and call the police to beat the crap out of us and drag our leaders away. What's worst is after that whole thing they divided the school into two separate divisions, so they can "control" us easier, sounds like slavery to me but that's my opinion. Good thing the people had strong beliefs because another strike broke out, ya the people. Finally this time the school board gave in and gave the lower class people the same teaching environment as the higher class. But still the higher ups are still messing with the class funds, so they can earn more money for themselves, I really wish they would stop messing around in our school just for themselves.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Dim Sum of All Things - P 233
So far, the novel has kept me engaged and interested in the triumphs and shortcomings of Lindsey, the book's main character. The bulk of my reading has been completed over the past week and a half as I find it difficult to stop once I've started.
I just wanted to emphasize the importance of some of the themes my fellow group members have found in the book:
Stereotypes - Unlike my fellow group members, I hardly find the stereotypes used in this book offensive. I realize, however, that this is probably because I am not Chinese and do not understand the implications of these stereotypes.
Interestingly, I think Lindsey is the strongest supporter of such stereotypes even though she is Chinese. She seems almost ashamed of her own culture when she notices stereotypical behavior from family members or other Chinese. She frowns on such behavior even though these things may be essential aspects of her culture. I cannot tell if this is the author's intention.
She also seems to ignorantly categorize those who aren't Chinese throughout the book, especially males. Although I may be guilty of some the behavioral patterns Lindsey despises in men, it isn't fair to judge others before actually meeting them. This is probably why she hasn't had much success as far as romance is concerned.
Interracial dating - I never really understood what the fuss about interracial dating was all about. As a product of an interracial marriage, I have been around this all of my life. I think the more people speculate over interracial couples, the more difficult it becomes for couples to do what couples are supposed to do--love each other no matter what race the other person is. This book seems to put the spotlight on interracial couples when these things should be naturally accepted.
Overall, I do like the book. Regardless of the themes or messages, a lot can be learned about Chinese culture such as native foods and language. I find this beneficial because I haven't read much dealing with Chinese culture. I think that these pieces of knowledge will stick with me for the longer than anything else in this book.
- Ernest
I just wanted to emphasize the importance of some of the themes my fellow group members have found in the book:
Stereotypes - Unlike my fellow group members, I hardly find the stereotypes used in this book offensive. I realize, however, that this is probably because I am not Chinese and do not understand the implications of these stereotypes.
Interestingly, I think Lindsey is the strongest supporter of such stereotypes even though she is Chinese. She seems almost ashamed of her own culture when she notices stereotypical behavior from family members or other Chinese. She frowns on such behavior even though these things may be essential aspects of her culture. I cannot tell if this is the author's intention.
She also seems to ignorantly categorize those who aren't Chinese throughout the book, especially males. Although I may be guilty of some the behavioral patterns Lindsey despises in men, it isn't fair to judge others before actually meeting them. This is probably why she hasn't had much success as far as romance is concerned.
Interracial dating - I never really understood what the fuss about interracial dating was all about. As a product of an interracial marriage, I have been around this all of my life. I think the more people speculate over interracial couples, the more difficult it becomes for couples to do what couples are supposed to do--love each other no matter what race the other person is. This book seems to put the spotlight on interracial couples when these things should be naturally accepted.
Overall, I do like the book. Regardless of the themes or messages, a lot can be learned about Chinese culture such as native foods and language. I find this beneficial because I haven't read much dealing with Chinese culture. I think that these pieces of knowledge will stick with me for the longer than anything else in this book.
- Ernest
Monday, October 20, 2008
Eat First Restaurant (Review)
I’ve never been a big fan of Chinese restaurants or Chinese food for that matter but this place is better than most. If there was such a term, I would call it a Chinese and Chinese American restaurant simply because the menu works like a double-edged sword. There is your usual menu where the selections are in both English and Chinese but there is this other menu where everything is in Chinese. Non-Chinese readers don’t worry; I personally think the items on that menu are a bit too “authentic” Chinese for me but that would certainly please the older folks. There is an all-English lunch menu that consists of 100% Americanized Chinese food. Although I’m trying to be as un-bias as possible, I love the selections on this lunch menu. All the items on that single laminated page are about five-dollars and the dish is fairly big. I usually order either the Mongolian Beef, Smooth Egg over rice with beef or the Spicy Tofu with Beef over rice. When I compare with most Chinese restaurants, particularly in the Sunset district, a bowl of rice is outrageously two-dollars but over here, it is no different than Chinatown offers, unlimited refills on your bowls.
It’s a modern style atmosphere. You won’t get any old Qing Dynasty music but instead, there’s a flat panel television with whatever show on TVB or a sporting event on ESPN. Although it looks like a fairly decent sized restaurant, there is actually a second level. The problem I have with seating is when they really have no tables for you or you and your friends and they make you sit in a big round table with other customers. The staff here is friendly but often times too busy to remember your orders. I can’t tell you how many times a waiter came to our table and gave us the other table’s order. I guess another flaw with the staff is their tendency to go outside when business is slow and have a smoke during their shifts. Unfortunately, they don’t bother washing their hands afterwards. Overall, its good food and mediocre service and although the staff aren’t the best of all time, they do the best they can to give you food that is fresh. There was a time when we ordered a dinner set and they couldn’t give us the soup because it was boiling at the moment. It may have been disappointing to start with but eventually it arrived and it was amazing. Some may not like it but I guess that would make me a pretty patient guy.
Click here for My Yelp Review
It’s a modern style atmosphere. You won’t get any old Qing Dynasty music but instead, there’s a flat panel television with whatever show on TVB or a sporting event on ESPN. Although it looks like a fairly decent sized restaurant, there is actually a second level. The problem I have with seating is when they really have no tables for you or you and your friends and they make you sit in a big round table with other customers. The staff here is friendly but often times too busy to remember your orders. I can’t tell you how many times a waiter came to our table and gave us the other table’s order. I guess another flaw with the staff is their tendency to go outside when business is slow and have a smoke during their shifts. Unfortunately, they don’t bother washing their hands afterwards. Overall, its good food and mediocre service and although the staff aren’t the best of all time, they do the best they can to give you food that is fresh. There was a time when we ordered a dinner set and they couldn’t give us the soup because it was boiling at the moment. It may have been disappointing to start with but eventually it arrived and it was amazing. Some may not like it but I guess that would make me a pretty patient guy.
Click here for My Yelp Review
The Dim Sum of All Things Review
Note: I tried to be as unbias as possible but that mindset deteriorated in the process of writing this review.
Personal? Yes. Controversial? Possibly. Informative? Slightly. Positively-charged? Not at all. Those are the labels I would put down if I was capable of “tagging” a book. Kim Wong Keltner’s Dim Sum of All Things is a less-than-decent attempt to put Asian American culture into a better light than that of say, the early Chinese American immigrants? Considering this was her first attempt at becoming a distinguished author, I would try not to hold too much negativity towards her for the flaws seen in this book. It’s a light read and would most likely take less than a day or two if you become completely engaged into reading it. Let’s try to break this book down into pieces. Half of the first quarter of this book consisted of a mishmash of story background, objective and character insight/development. The other half however consisted of both assumptions and attacks on culture and gender. The following half-size chunk of this book was very slow paced and we finally get a bit of progression with the story but it never really got to the point. The final quarter of this book sums up a lot of the story’s objectives but I personally think it felt a bit rushed. Conclusively, I enjoyed the last 3/4ths of this book more than I did having to put up with the first quarter of it.
Let’s begin with the characters. I believe Keltner’s strongest attribute to her book writing style would be the way she presents her characters. The main character Lindsey is described very thoroughly from what goes on in her mind and what she assumes is going on around her. I enjoyed the descriptions of Pau Pau from Lindsey’s perspective but if I was to recall, this book is in the second person narrative. In my opinion, this book works much better in the first person narrative because there is already enough of what Lindsey assumes strictly from the narrators words. Lindsey is a character that I probably wouldn’t mind confronting in person if I could read minds. It’s amazing how Keltner chooses the absolute worst of Asian Americans as the host of this showcasing of Chinese American culture. Almost every single scene involving Lindsey and her assumptions of literally everybody around her was so negatively charged that it made me sick to my stomach. For example, Lindsey views Caucasian men as “hoarders” of all things Asian but if you had to analyze all the glamorization of White Americans and compare them to her views on Chinese Americans, you can simply call Lindsey a “hoarder” of all things White.
One of the biggest highlights that Keltner tries to showcase in her book based on the back of it are questions dealing with Chinese American culture at both its best and its worst. Keltner does a tremendous job at giving every scene of the book a lot of detail and it is easy to picture in my mind. The problem is; I saw a disrespectful attack on my heritage and even my gender in the most direct way. Keltner may not be an Amy Tam but at least Amy Tan tries to camouflage her attacks on Chinese American (and mainland Chinese) males better than the direct way Keltner does with her main character. Keltner makes it sound like Asian men are the only ethnic-gender that are cheap, Honda Civic driving, weak, nerds out in this world. The last time I checked; there are Ford loving, Star Wars idolizing, cheap white dates out in this world and that includes other ethnicities as well. Yes, this is a feministic book but this takes feminism into the more racist direction. And I quote Amazon reviewer Jay Wong, “If a WHITE person wrote something like this, then they would rightly be called an Asian hating racist.” If this book was the first Chinese American based book I had to ever read, I would totally not want to date a Chinese girl if Chinese girls would be represented by Lindsay’s almost irrational outlook on her own heritage. Having Lindsay find out that Steve was a quarter Chinese did nothing to suppress my distain either.
Overall, if you’re one to know more about contemporary Chinese American culture than you already do, look anywhere else but this book. With all due respect that I can possibly muster out of me to Lindsey Wong Keltner, nice try on your first attempt and I hope my money for your book got you something nice because I got myself some pretty expensive toilet paper. Keltner is not a sell out in my opinion despite the way I portrayed her writing style and character insights. Interracial dating and marriage is nothing new to American society in the past two decades. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it but you can not glamorize it by bashing on the other gender of your own ethnicity. It is distasteful and rotten much like your “Dim Sum” of all things.
Story Plot: C- (What was it again? Was it a neurotic girl’s goal of playing hard to get on a Caucasian man and hoarding all negativities on a culture? Trying to overcome adversity from a traditional grandmother? You get points on the second one but if it was solely the first one, you’d get D because if it wasn’t published, it’d be an F)
Character Development: B- (Your descriptions and extensive uses of the views and opinions of the characters are very well done and outweigh your lack of respect for any male both Asian or White)
Ease of Reading (level of reading/flow of reading/etc): B (It is a fast read but your lack of story continuity slows the pace down to a point where I didn’t pick up the book for 4 days)
Overall: C- (A job well done, it’s not a complete failure but at the same time the fact that you somehow got this published gives this book the much needed rescue and sums of cash into your pocket. Hopefully all that money can purchase you a nice apartment in the Pacific Heights away from the Sunset district where, you said it; most of the Chinese people live. By the way, you failed to make me be ashamed of my own culture, my own gender and my own identity.)
Personal? Yes. Controversial? Possibly. Informative? Slightly. Positively-charged? Not at all. Those are the labels I would put down if I was capable of “tagging” a book. Kim Wong Keltner’s Dim Sum of All Things is a less-than-decent attempt to put Asian American culture into a better light than that of say, the early Chinese American immigrants? Considering this was her first attempt at becoming a distinguished author, I would try not to hold too much negativity towards her for the flaws seen in this book. It’s a light read and would most likely take less than a day or two if you become completely engaged into reading it. Let’s try to break this book down into pieces. Half of the first quarter of this book consisted of a mishmash of story background, objective and character insight/development. The other half however consisted of both assumptions and attacks on culture and gender. The following half-size chunk of this book was very slow paced and we finally get a bit of progression with the story but it never really got to the point. The final quarter of this book sums up a lot of the story’s objectives but I personally think it felt a bit rushed. Conclusively, I enjoyed the last 3/4ths of this book more than I did having to put up with the first quarter of it.
Let’s begin with the characters. I believe Keltner’s strongest attribute to her book writing style would be the way she presents her characters. The main character Lindsey is described very thoroughly from what goes on in her mind and what she assumes is going on around her. I enjoyed the descriptions of Pau Pau from Lindsey’s perspective but if I was to recall, this book is in the second person narrative. In my opinion, this book works much better in the first person narrative because there is already enough of what Lindsey assumes strictly from the narrators words. Lindsey is a character that I probably wouldn’t mind confronting in person if I could read minds. It’s amazing how Keltner chooses the absolute worst of Asian Americans as the host of this showcasing of Chinese American culture. Almost every single scene involving Lindsey and her assumptions of literally everybody around her was so negatively charged that it made me sick to my stomach. For example, Lindsey views Caucasian men as “hoarders” of all things Asian but if you had to analyze all the glamorization of White Americans and compare them to her views on Chinese Americans, you can simply call Lindsey a “hoarder” of all things White.
One of the biggest highlights that Keltner tries to showcase in her book based on the back of it are questions dealing with Chinese American culture at both its best and its worst. Keltner does a tremendous job at giving every scene of the book a lot of detail and it is easy to picture in my mind. The problem is; I saw a disrespectful attack on my heritage and even my gender in the most direct way. Keltner may not be an Amy Tam but at least Amy Tan tries to camouflage her attacks on Chinese American (and mainland Chinese) males better than the direct way Keltner does with her main character. Keltner makes it sound like Asian men are the only ethnic-gender that are cheap, Honda Civic driving, weak, nerds out in this world. The last time I checked; there are Ford loving, Star Wars idolizing, cheap white dates out in this world and that includes other ethnicities as well. Yes, this is a feministic book but this takes feminism into the more racist direction. And I quote Amazon reviewer Jay Wong, “If a WHITE person wrote something like this, then they would rightly be called an Asian hating racist.” If this book was the first Chinese American based book I had to ever read, I would totally not want to date a Chinese girl if Chinese girls would be represented by Lindsay’s almost irrational outlook on her own heritage. Having Lindsay find out that Steve was a quarter Chinese did nothing to suppress my distain either.
Overall, if you’re one to know more about contemporary Chinese American culture than you already do, look anywhere else but this book. With all due respect that I can possibly muster out of me to Lindsey Wong Keltner, nice try on your first attempt and I hope my money for your book got you something nice because I got myself some pretty expensive toilet paper. Keltner is not a sell out in my opinion despite the way I portrayed her writing style and character insights. Interracial dating and marriage is nothing new to American society in the past two decades. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it but you can not glamorize it by bashing on the other gender of your own ethnicity. It is distasteful and rotten much like your “Dim Sum” of all things.
Story Plot: C- (What was it again? Was it a neurotic girl’s goal of playing hard to get on a Caucasian man and hoarding all negativities on a culture? Trying to overcome adversity from a traditional grandmother? You get points on the second one but if it was solely the first one, you’d get D because if it wasn’t published, it’d be an F)
Character Development: B- (Your descriptions and extensive uses of the views and opinions of the characters are very well done and outweigh your lack of respect for any male both Asian or White)
Ease of Reading (level of reading/flow of reading/etc): B (It is a fast read but your lack of story continuity slows the pace down to a point where I didn’t pick up the book for 4 days)
Overall: C- (A job well done, it’s not a complete failure but at the same time the fact that you somehow got this published gives this book the much needed rescue and sums of cash into your pocket. Hopefully all that money can purchase you a nice apartment in the Pacific Heights away from the Sunset district where, you said it; most of the Chinese people live. By the way, you failed to make me be ashamed of my own culture, my own gender and my own identity.)
The Dim Sum of All Things
The Dim Sum of All Things is a novel written by Kim Wong Keltner, explores the many aspects of Asian American life and culture. Just my purest first impression of reading the summary on the back of the book it sounded like it would be a fun book to read. However, after diving into a fairly good portion of the book I found my opinion of the book to change quite a bit. I was very surprised to see so many references to Asian and Chinese stereotypes. I thought that after reading further into the book they would stop, but that was not the case at all. The story does nothing redeem itself after so many negative stereotypes.
The main character of the story is named Lindsey. She is one of those kinds of helpless characters you get annoyed at in stories, instead of going out and solving her problems she just sits there and mopes. She is also very distant with her own culture, so I find it odd that they way Lindsey talks is as if she is being representative of all Chinese,Asians, and women as well. A good portion of this book is about stereotypes, well guess what? the main character is very quick to place people into stereotypes as well. Lindsey will see a white male dressed a certain way and immediately he is labeled a "Horder". Looking at Lindsey's character we see many of the themes the book focuses on.
Culture is a constantly reoccurring theme in the book. I myself feel that this book does not truely explore all of the Chinese and Asian American culture because Lindsey is so disconnected from her culture. It is like being lectured about a culture by someone who is not even from that culture. Not to mention at times I feel Lindsey dislikes her culture, like she wishes she could have been born into something else.
Stereotypes are another common theme in the story. Lindsey talks about the many categories that people put her in. The funny thing though is that Lindsey herself is sometimes caught putting people into categories. So it is a bit hard to be cheering for for the main character because she does see that she is being simple minded. However, there are timse in the book that I did feel that I could relate to her. Such as when she talks about how people would call her things when she was little, but had no idea what they were saying until she was older. I went thorough something that practically identical.
Interracial dating is a very sensitive subject that can be found in the book. When you are reading the first few parts of the book it sounds like the book is really against interracial dating. Coming from an Asian family I have alwaysed noticed it, and was hoping that the book would give some good reasons as to why this is because it baffles me. I do not see why they are so against dating out of thier own gene pool. I know that times have changed for the better, but there still is some of the past still lingering around and I hope it will fade away eventually.
This book stirs up many feelings inside of me and questions as well. After getting me all interested with all the questions about Asian American culture, it annoys me that so much of the book was focused on stereotpyes. I am a little disapointed that it never really went into depth they questions that were posed on the back. I still would like to know that the facination with Hello Kitty is all about.
The main character of the story is named Lindsey. She is one of those kinds of helpless characters you get annoyed at in stories, instead of going out and solving her problems she just sits there and mopes. She is also very distant with her own culture, so I find it odd that they way Lindsey talks is as if she is being representative of all Chinese,Asians, and women as well. A good portion of this book is about stereotypes, well guess what? the main character is very quick to place people into stereotypes as well. Lindsey will see a white male dressed a certain way and immediately he is labeled a "Horder". Looking at Lindsey's character we see many of the themes the book focuses on.
Culture is a constantly reoccurring theme in the book. I myself feel that this book does not truely explore all of the Chinese and Asian American culture because Lindsey is so disconnected from her culture. It is like being lectured about a culture by someone who is not even from that culture. Not to mention at times I feel Lindsey dislikes her culture, like she wishes she could have been born into something else.
Stereotypes are another common theme in the story. Lindsey talks about the many categories that people put her in. The funny thing though is that Lindsey herself is sometimes caught putting people into categories. So it is a bit hard to be cheering for for the main character because she does see that she is being simple minded. However, there are timse in the book that I did feel that I could relate to her. Such as when she talks about how people would call her things when she was little, but had no idea what they were saying until she was older. I went thorough something that practically identical.
Interracial dating is a very sensitive subject that can be found in the book. When you are reading the first few parts of the book it sounds like the book is really against interracial dating. Coming from an Asian family I have alwaysed noticed it, and was hoping that the book would give some good reasons as to why this is because it baffles me. I do not see why they are so against dating out of thier own gene pool. I know that times have changed for the better, but there still is some of the past still lingering around and I hope it will fade away eventually.
This book stirs up many feelings inside of me and questions as well. After getting me all interested with all the questions about Asian American culture, it annoys me that so much of the book was focused on stereotpyes. I am a little disapointed that it never really went into depth they questions that were posed on the back. I still would like to know that the facination with Hello Kitty is all about.
Book Review
Let me start off by saying that the book The Dim Sum of All Things written by Kim Wong Keltner, is a pretty interesting book, not just only story wise but also culturally. The book introduces the main character, the 25 yr old woman Lindsey Owyang, who is a Chinese American. The book starts out with Lindsey’s daily life, and moves on to specific things that have happened to her over the years, or in the present time of the book. As I read through the book I realize that some of things that Lindsey experienced, I have experienced myself. Such things were the smell of incense or weird smelling dishes. The mini titles in the book were really interesting like, “She was a Freak Magnet” or “Bananas, Twinkies, and Eggs”. In a way I feel that this book likes to “jokingly insult” Asians in way, like how Lindsey likes to think some Chinese guys are really smart or nerdy, Star wars freaks, or the pudgy guys are perverted. I also sense some sexism in the book, it seems like most of the blame or problems Lindsey faces come from men, making most or 90% of all men are bad. The book also likes to relate races into food categories; White on the out and Asian in the inside is call an egg or Asian on the outside and white in the inside is called a Twinkie. Overall the book was pretty comical and really interesting even though I sense some racists or sexist comments, making this book a worth to read.
The Dim Sum of All Things gives us the readers a mirror view of Asian Culture. It gives us a feel of how the world looks at Asian culture, such as marriages, religion or food, weekend activities, entertainment, providing the readers a first person view of all these things. Of course Asian culture has change through the years, but some aspects of it have not for some families, such as marriages. Lindsey describes how her grandmother would react if she were to be dating a Japanese guy, she would explode! Or like how Lindsey’s grandmother wouldn’t mind her dating a white guy, in the old days I don’t the parents would approve of that. The title of the book, The Dim Sum of All Things in my opinion refers to how culture is created together by little pieces like dim sum until it becomes full.
The Dim Sum of All Things gives us the readers a mirror view of Asian Culture. It gives us a feel of how the world looks at Asian culture, such as marriages, religion or food, weekend activities, entertainment, providing the readers a first person view of all these things. Of course Asian culture has change through the years, but some aspects of it have not for some families, such as marriages. Lindsey describes how her grandmother would react if she were to be dating a Japanese guy, she would explode! Or like how Lindsey’s grandmother wouldn’t mind her dating a white guy, in the old days I don’t the parents would approve of that. The title of the book, The Dim Sum of All Things in my opinion refers to how culture is created together by little pieces like dim sum until it becomes full.
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